Press releases

04 Mar 2026 Surgeons say the latest waiting times data in Northern Ireland show welcome progress, but transparency is needed on whether increased surgical activity is driving these reductions.

02 Mar 2026 New research published in The Bulletin of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England) has found that women make up just 6.2% of surgeons working across the UK’s five largest private hospital groups, compared with 16.9% in the NHS.

17 Feb 2026 New figures released today show that 33,976 tooth extractions were carried out in children in 2025 due to tooth decay. This equates to a young person, aged between 0 and 19, needing a tooth extraction due to tooth decay, likely under general anaesthetic, every 15 minutes. This is an 11% increase on last year’s numbers.

12 Feb 2026 Results from the National Lung Cancer Audit (NLCA) in England and Wales have been published today by the National Cancer Audit Collaborating Centre (NATCAN). The findings demonstrate improvements in early diagnosis across England and Wales but also highlight delays to treatment and ongoing variation in access to care.

12 Feb 2026 The latest NHS consultant-led referral-to-treatment (RTT) data shows that the total waiting list decreased to 7.29 million in December 2025. In the final month of last year, the NHS came under sustained pressure, with flu and norovirus cases reaching exceptionally high levels.

06 Feb 2026 Responding, Professor Vivien Lees, Senior Vice-President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England), said: “Staff targeted by James Gilbert’s behaviour will feel disappointed by today’s Court of Appeal judgment. Erasure from the medical register must always remain a potential outcome for unacceptable behaviours, including sexual misconduct."

29 Jan 2026 In response to Great Ormond Street Hospital's independent review, an RCS England spokesperson said: “It is extremely upsetting to learn that Great Ormond Street Hospital’s independent review has identified harm to a significant number of children. Our thoughts are with the families affected."

27 Jan 2026 Responding to the new ‘trailblazing’ NHS AI and robot pilot to ‘spot lung cancer sooner’, Miss Nuha Yassin, Consultant Colorectal Surgeon and RCS England Council Lead for the Future of Surgery, Robotics and Digital Surgery, said: “This innovative NHS pilot demonstrates the remarkable potential of advanced technology in the form of robotic assisted diagnostic tools and AI."

23 Jan 2026 Insight: Portraits of Women in Surgery is a timely new exhibition opening at the Hunterian Museum, housed inside the Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England) in London. The exhibition shines a spotlight on women in surgery working across the UK today, offering an intimate and contemporary look at surgical life.

22 Jan 2026 New data, released by NHS Wales for November 2025, shows some progress in cutting the waiting list, but surgeons warn that ambitions to clear the longest waits remain at risk due to staff burnout and theatre access.