Patient Information

Welcome to our pages dedicated to patients and carers

Here you can find some answers to popular questions about surgeons, common operations, and different types of surgery including cosmetic surgery. You will also find links to further sources of information and to other websites dealing with health care and patient issues.

We hope you will be able to find any specific information you are looking for. If you have any further questions, please contact us at patients@rcseng.ac.uk. Even if we are unable to provide the exact information you require, we hope to be able to point you in the right direction.

This section also contains information about how the College involves patients directly, largely through the work of its independent Patient Liaison Group, a majority non-medical (lay) body which provides a voice for patients across the College's business. The Patient Liaison Group has produced several information guides for patients, which can be found here.

Information about the general work of the College can be found here. This includes a list of public events run by the College.

The role of the College

The College's responsibility is to enable surgeons to achieve and maintain the highest standards of surgical practice and patient care. The College is not a regulatory body, so does not have a role in disciplinary actions and is unable to act on complaints about individual doctors.

These are the responsibilities of the General Medical Council (GMC). The GMC holds the central registers of doctors’ qualifications, including the specialist register. The specialist register lists doctors who have completed specialist training, including surgical training. Doctors must now be included in this register to be appointed to consultant posts in the NHS.

For further information see Questions About Surgeons or contact the GMC directly at www.gmc-uk.org.