The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh was pleased to have the chance to submit written evidence to the House of Lords Public Services Committee’s inquiry into the impact of Covid-19 and welcomes its findings. The report found that the NHS had some successes, upscaling acute care capacity with the Nightingale Hospitals and increased use of digital technology. However, it warns that without fundamental reform these benefits could be lost.
The report found that public services – including the NHS – lacked resilience and were ill-prepared for a stress test of the scale of the pandemic. The report makes three calls which were also found in the evidence the RCSEd submitted. Firstly, the report found that ethnic minority communities were hard hit by the pandemic and need to be better supported. This chimes with the work the College has been doing internally on equalities and diversity. Secondly, the report finds that health inequalities should be a fundamental priority of the government. The RCSEd called for the findings in the 2010 Marmot review into health inequalities need to be implemented. Thirdly, fitting in with the College’s evidence on PPE and the NHS’s IT infrastructure, the report found that the NHS and other public services were ill-prepared for the pandemic due to a lack of resilience. This has been caused by ten years of cuts and underfunding, and the NHS requires the resources to address this fundamental weakness.
The report, which also includes a link to the College’s evidence submission, is available here.
The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh was founded in 1505.It is the oldest Surgical College in the world with just over 31,000 members in 100 countries, almost half of whom are overseas, touching every stage of the career path from medical student to consultant. We are a family of Surgeons, Dental Surgeons and members of the Surgical and Dental teams who put Patient Safety at the heart of everything they do. Our high quality education and examinations ensure that standards are upheld across all specialities and in all countries.
With our interest in professional standards, the College’s primary role – and the main concern of our Fellows and Members – is to ensure the safety of our patients and provide them with the best possible care. We do this by championing the highest standards of surgical and dental practice; through our provision of courses and educational programmes, training, examinations, and Continuous Professional Development; our liaison with external medical bodies; and by influencing healthcare policy across the UK.
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Issued by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. For further information, please contact comms@rcsed.ac.uk