Reference Materials

We have collected here a number of the key standards and other documents that have been published both by the College and other professional bodies such as the General Medical Council. These provide clear statements about what it means to be a highly performing surgeon or surgical service and are very helpful reference materials while undertaking an invited review.

Key College documents

• Good surgical practice
  Good surgical practice sets out standards for all surgeons and their practice. It has been developed in consultation with members and fellows, patients, surgical royal colleges and surgical specialty associations and reflects the profession’s expectation of all competent surgeons. 

• The high performing surgical team
  This document is intended to serve as a practical guide for surgeons who work in teams and for those responsible for developing teams and improving team performance. It highlights both technical processes, such as the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist, and the non-technical skills, such as communication and team reflection, which contribute significantly to the performance of the team. 

• Surgical leadership
  This guide sets out the rationale for effective leadership and the recommended attributes and behaviours expected of the surgical leader. It provides standards and recommendations that can inform training, development and assessment of surgical leaders and leadership. The focus is on achieving positive outcomes for patient safety and a culture that promotes safe, efficient and compassionate care of patients and staff. 

• Duty of candour
  This document provides guidance on both the professional and the statutory duty of candour for surgeons and their employers. It makes  recommendations on how to communicate with patients who have suffered harm and how to support them. It also highlights the need to provide early support to surgeons and surgical teams who have been involved in harm, as a vital part of safety management and avoiding harmful incidents in the future.
  
  
• Improving surgical practice: learning from the experience of RCS invited reviews
  This document describes the difficulties that can arise from the practice of an individual surgeon or within a surgical service. It is based on the RCS’s experience of undertaking invited reviews. We hope that this document can be used to improve the discussion of the challenges of surgical practice and ensure they are addressed at an early stage, before they lead to problems that have an impact on the quality of patient care. 

• Acting on concerns, your professional responsibility
  This document is about how to act on your concerns when you think patients are receiving poor care. Just as importantly, it is about how you and your colleagues collaborate in monitoring the quality of care you provide and how you ready yourselves to deal with problems if they arise.

Other relevant standards documents

• Good medical practice
  The duties of a doctor registered with the General Medical Council. Patients must be able to trust doctors with their lives and health. To justify that trust you must show respect for human life and make sure your practice meets the standards expected of you in four domains; Knowledge, skills and performance, Safety and quality, Communication, partnership and teamwork and Maintaining trust.

• Leadership and management for all doctors
  The GMC’s Leadership and management for all doctors (2012) sets out the wider management and leadership responsibilities of all doctors in the workplace, including responsibilities relating to employment issues, teaching and training, planning, using and managing resources, raising and acting on concerns and helping to develop and improve services. 

• Raising and acting on concerns about patient safety
  All doctors have a duty to act when they believe patients’ safety is at risk, or that patients’ care or dignity are being compromised. The GMC’s Raising and Acting on Concerns about Patient Safety sets out their expectation that all doctors will, whatever their role, take appropriate action to raise and act on concerns about patient care, dignity and safety.