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08 Aug 2019
Surgeons are calling again for a 5-year-plan to clear the backlog of patients waiting for consultant-led treatment, as hospital lists continue to grow. The renewed call from the Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS) comes as NHS performance data shows a record 4.4 million patients were waiting for hospital treatment in June 2019.
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07 Aug 2019
Professor Derek Alderson, President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, has responded to the Government’s proposed changes to NHS pensions rules. He has said that the new consultation announced today is a step in the right direction and he hopes it will lead to permanent changes to the pensions system that will allow NHS staff to get on with the huge job of reducing the backlog of patients waiting for treatment.
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05 Aug 2019
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to announce the 20 hospitals set to share £850 million of new funding to upgrade outdated facilities and equipment today. Professor Derek Alderson, President of the Royal College of Surgeons has welcomed the additional investment in hospitals, but noted the funding doesn't go far enough.
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23 Jul 2019
Following the Prevention Vision published in November 2018, the Government has published a green paper, 'Advancing our Health: prevention in the 2020s'. A consultation on the green paper will now run for 12 weeks. Professor Michael Escudier, Dean of the Faculty of Dental Surgery, has responded to news of the consultation.
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11 Jul 2019
The Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS) has today called for the two candidates in the running to be the next Prime Minister of the UK, to act fast to stem rising NHS waiting times. The call comes as NHS performance data is published showing that 4.39 million patients were waiting for hospital treatment, and a record 245,079 were waiting more than half a year (26 weeks).
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10 Jul 2019
The RCS has responded to a new Nuffield Trust report, 'Change or collapse: Lessons from the drive to reform health and social care in Northern Ireland', which warns a political vacuum and a culture of centralisation are impeding reform of the health and care system in Northern Ireland.
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24 Jun 2019
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has today published a new report, ‘Smiling matters: oral health care in care homes’. Professor Michael Escudier, Dean of the Faculty of Dental Surgery (FDS) at the Royal College of Surgeons, has welcomed the report saying it resonates with many of the reflections and recommendations made in the FDS's own report on improving older people’s oral health.
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22 Jun 2019
New data analysed by the BMA reveals hospitals are now routinely caring for patients in beds that should be used only in emergencies or when there are spikes in demand – such as during winter months. Using Freedom of Information requests, the BMA has found hospitals in England are regularly using these extra beds, called “escalation beds”, for routine care. The RCS has responded to the BMA's findings.
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13 Jun 2019
Surgeons are concerned that the NHS does not have a clear plan to tackle the growing backlog of patients waiting for operations, as new figures reveal more than 4.3 million stuck on hospital waiting lists. NHS England performance data published today for April 2019 shows that only 86.5% of patients waiting to start planned, consultant-led hospital treatment were seen within 18 weeks. The legal target is 92%.
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06 Jun 2019
The Royal College of Surgeons has urged dog lovers to remember that while dogs may be man’s best friend they can, and at times do, bite. Latest NHS Digital figures show that more than 23,000 hospital admissions in the past three years were related to people being bitten or struck by dogs.