Surgeons back calls for cross party commission

Commenting on Norman Lamb MP’s proposal for a cross-party health and social care commission, Royal College of Surgeons President Clare Marx said:

"The NHS and the social care systems are currently living on a knife edge. We strongly support calls to establish a cross-party commission on health and social care.

"The Government’s commitment to extra money for the NHS in the comprehensive spending review was very welcome, although questions remain about whether this secures the long-term sustainability of the NHS in its current form. Patients were seen over 15 million times in hospitals in 2014/15 – a 30% rise in a decade. We should celebrate the fact that people are living longer but we need to recognise this will also create new challenges for the care the NHS provides.

"The situation in social care looks even more serious. A recent 12% rise in patients being unnecessarily delayed from leaving hospital following treatment suggests we need to urgently review how we can better provide and fund the care of older people in the community .

"An independent cross-party commission would allow these issues to be scrutinised and solutions aired. For the sake of patients this long overdue debate with the public has to happen now."

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.

For more information, please contact the Press Office:

• Telephone: 020 7869 6047/6052
• Email: pressoffice@rcseng.ac.uk
• Out of hours media enquiries: 07966 486832