RCS comments on Chief Inspector of Hospitals' inspection plans

‘As surgeons, we stand ready to help Professor Sir Mike Richards and his team to make hospital inspections robust and thorough, after a period in which we have seen the standards in some hospitals fall. It is extremely important that surgeons and other clinicians can use their knowledge and expertise - and also their personal commitment to high standards - to focus on specialist areas right across a hospital.

We now need the hospital inspection programme to be the very best it can be, following the examples of abysmal care and the failures in investigations that have come to light recently. Our commitment to this is unshakeable; patients would rightly expect us to be helping ensure that the care offered in our hospitals is safe and effective, and strives to improve on a daily basis.’

For more information, please contact the RCS press office on:

• 020 7869 6047/ 6052
• communications@rcseng.ac.uk
• Out-of hours: 07966 486 832
• The Royal College of Surgeons of England is committed to enabling surgeons to achieve and maintain the highest standards of surgical practice and patient care. Registered charity number: 212808