Response to NHS Improvement comments on royal college standards
13 Jul 2016
Responding to comments published in HSJ from NHS Improvement that Trusts should not automatically spend money to meet royal college standards, the Royal College of Surgeons said:
“Royal colleges produce a variety of standards. Some are about moving the NHS from satisfactory to excellent standards of care and these are deliberately aspirational. However, other standards are about minimum requirements for training, or how we ensure patients are safe and have good outcomes of care.
“For example our guidance on major trauma care has helped surgeons and managers to improve the care of patients throughout the NHS. We fail patients if we regard these sorts of minimum standards as optional.
“Colleges exist to raise standards of care in the NHS and to be independent of political pressures. It is right that we continue to push the NHS to advance, not stagnate.
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.
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