The dental profession was disappointed to hear of the statement made by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social care, Jo Churchill, in response to a question posed by Labour MP Peter Dowd around the benefits of regular dental check-ups in ensuring early diagnosis of oral cancer.
Professor Jackie Taylor, President of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow has endorsed the findings of a new report Workforce burnout and resilience in the NHS and social care which concludes that an overhaul is needed to tackle NHS and social care workforce burnout which has now reached a state of emergency.
The Scottish Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and Faculties and BMA Scotland have worked together to produce a new briefing document to ensure that the views of the healthcare workforce contribute to discussions around recovery, remobilisation and transformation of the health service in the months and years ahead.
Professor Jackie Taylor, President of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, has welcomed the new report New Deal for Surgery, published by the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
The Scottish Academy has proposed five key measures in its election manifesto for Scottish Parliament election which could help reduce health inequality in Scotland.
The Advisory Committee on Clinical Excellence Awards (ACCEA) will accept applications for new national awards from consultants and academic GPs working for the NHS in England and Wales and for renewed awards from those due to renew their award in 2021. This includes those who were due to renew in 2020 and whose awards were extended by one year.
2020 has been dominated by the profound effects on the NHS of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the NHS moves from crisis management to recovery, longer term issues need to be addressed. The 2019 census reveals the continuing pressures on the medical workforce and the systems in which we work prior to the pandemic. The number of consultant posts needed continues to significantly outnumber supply.
“At the start of this pandemic the whole NHS pulled together to ensure that we were ready for the challenges we faced. We now need a similar effort to prepare for the long winter ahead.”
“Clinicians everywhere however are feeling incredibly worried about the next few weeks and months. There has been considerable learning from the first wave, but much of the focus has been on “what went well?” and “what should we continue to do?” rather than “what could we have done better?” and therein lies the problem. If we fail to learn from past experience, we risk repeating the sub-optimal practices of the past.”
We would encourage all members of our College community to take part in observing a minute’s silence on Tuesday 15th September for those who put their health at risk, caring for patients during the worst of COVID-19.
