Press releases

  • Response to National Lung Cancer Audit

    12 Feb 2026 Results from the National Lung Cancer Audit (NLCA) in England and Wales have been published today by the National Cancer Audit Collaborating Centre (NATCAN). The findings demonstrate improvements in early diagnosis across England and Wales but also highlight delays to treatment and ongoing variation in access to care.

  • Surgeons: NHS cannot cut waits without rebuilding surgical capacity

    12 Feb 2026 The latest NHS consultant-led referral-to-treatment (RTT) data shows that the total waiting list decreased to 7.29 million in December 2025. In the final month of last year, the NHS came under sustained pressure, with flu and norovirus cases reaching exceptionally high levels.

  • RCS England response to The General Medical Council v James Gilbert & Anor [2026]

    06 Feb 2026 Responding, Professor Vivien Lees, Senior Vice-President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England), said: “Staff targeted by James Gilbert’s behaviour will feel disappointed by today’s Court of Appeal judgment. Erasure from the medical register must always remain a potential outcome for unacceptable behaviours, including sexual misconduct."

  • Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) Independent Review

    29 Jan 2026 In response to Great Ormond Street Hospital's independent review, an RCS England spokesperson said: “It is extremely upsetting to learn that Great Ormond Street Hospital’s independent review has identified harm to a significant number of children. Our thoughts are with the families affected."

  • Surgeons respond to new ‘trailblazing’ NHS AI and robot pilot to ‘spot lung cancer sooner’

    27 Jan 2026 Responding to the new ‘trailblazing’ NHS AI and robot pilot to ‘spot lung cancer sooner’, Miss Nuha Yassin, Consultant Colorectal Surgeon and RCS England Council Lead for the Future of Surgery, Robotics and Digital Surgery, said: “This innovative NHS pilot demonstrates the remarkable potential of advanced technology in the form of robotic assisted diagnostic tools and AI."

  • Insight: Portraits of Women in Surgery

    23 Jan 2026 Insight: Portraits of Women in Surgery is a timely new exhibition opening at the Hunterian Museum, housed inside the Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England) in London. The exhibition shines a spotlight on women in surgery working across the UK today, offering an intimate and contemporary look at surgical life.

  • Surgeons: Invest in infrastructure and workforce to speed up cuts to waiting lists

    22 Jan 2026 New data, released by NHS Wales for November 2025, shows some progress in cutting the waiting list, but surgeons warn that ambitions to clear the longest waits remain at risk due to staff burnout and theatre access.

  • Surgeons respond to the National Audit Office's update on the New Hospital Programme

    16 Jan 2026 Responding to the National Audit Office (NAO) update on the New Hospital Programme (NHP), Mr Tim Mitchell, President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England), said: “A steadier plan is better than drifting, but patients cannot wait a decade for capacity that we need now."

  • Surgeons: despite falling waiting lists, lack of NHS capacity still threatens the government’s 18-week pledge

    15 Jan 2026 The College responds to the latest NHS consultant-led referral-to-treatment data, which showed the total waiting list decreased by 145,179 in November 2025, with 7.15 million people on the waiting list.

  • Surgeons respond to BMJ findings on NHS costs from overseas surgery complications

    13 Jan 2026 The College responds to research published by BMJ Open which revealed that the ‘postoperative complications of medical tourism may cost NHS up to £20,000 per patient’

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