Please enter both an email address and a password.

Account login

Need to reset your password?  Enter the email address which you used to register on this site (or your membership/contact number) and we'll email you a link to reset it. You must complete the process within 2hrs of receiving the link.

We've sent you an email

An email has been sent to Simply follow the link provided in the email to reset your password. If you can't find the email please check your junk or spam folder and add no-reply@rcseng.ac.uk to your address book.

Comment on NHS England plans for heart surgery

08 Jul 2016

The Royal College of Surgeons and the Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery are strongly supportive of the commissioning standards published last year for fetal, paediatric and adult congenital heart disease.

Responding to plans for heart surgery announced by NHS England today, a statement from both organisations said:

“Nationwide changes to the way we care for patients undergoing congenital heart surgery have been sorely needed and slow to happen. Improvements required in children’s heart surgery were highlighted when the Bristol Royal Infirmary public inquiry reported as long ago as 2001.

“We fully support these standards. NHS England must ensure that the standards are applied for the benefit of patients, by ensuring that expertise is concentrated where it is most appropriate. The proposals put forward by NHS England today should improve patient outcomes and help address the variations in care currently provided.

“It is fundamentally important that specialist surgical centres are large enough and treat patients regularly enough to develop full expertise to treat all conditions. It’s vital they are properly staffed to provide on-call rotas and teams have the time to create a supportive environment where new techniques are shared and future specialists can learn.”


Notes to editors

The Royal College of Surgeons of England is a professional membership organisation and registered charity, which exists to advance surgical standards and improve patient care.

For more information, please contact the Press Office:

Share this page: