Surgeon Peer-led Post-incident Response Teams Improvement Collaborative (SUPPORT), is a unique initiative aimed at improving the support systems provided to surgeons after adverse events across the UK. 

We are recruiting 20 trusts and healthcare boards across the UK to join the initiative. 

Recruitment for SUPPORT2 is now live and will close on 30 June 2025. 

Register your Trust or Health Board

Background

Adverse events are a part of surgery, and we know that they impact the wellbeing of surgeons both personally and professionally. Despite this, the profession has been slow to recognise the breadth and depth of the impact on surgeons in the UK and slower still in considering how it should respond.   

RCS England’s Supporting Surgeons After Adverse Events good practice guidance provides information on mitigating the impact of such events on surgeons, enabling better patient care and enhancing professional satisfaction.

To help implement this guidance into mainstream surgical practice, RCS England set up SUPPORT.

SUPPORT aims to work with sites introduce, develop, and maintain the practical approaches described by the RCS England’s Supporting Surgeons After Adverse Events good practice guidance.

SUPPORT1 launched in January 2024 and ran to March 2025.

To build on the success of SUPPORT1 we are now recruiting to SUPPORT2.

SUPPORT2 Project Outline

We are recruiting 20 sites from the UK who will design, deliver, sustain and evaluate a peer to peer support system to support surgeons after an adverse event.
The project team delivering SUPPORT is a multi-professional team with expertise in surgery, psychology, Quality Improvement and QI project support.

Project team

Mr Kevin Turner - Consultant Urological Surgeon and Visiting Professor
Dr Maddy Greville-Harris - Clinical Psychologist, Senior Lecturer
Dr Olivia Donnelly - Consultant Clinical Psychologist
Miss Gemma Scrimgeour - Innovation and Improvement Fellow
Sheena MacSween – Programme Manager

Join SUPPORT2

Recruitment for SUPPORT2 is now live.

There is a one-off cost of £7,500 (plus VAT) per trust or health board to join the project. In addition, trusts and health boards need to cover their travel and expenses to any in-person meetings.  

The named project lead should be allocated 0.25 PA per week in their job plan to lead the project locally.

Register your Trust or Health Board’s by 30 June 2025.

 

SUPPORT2 planned timeline

• Recruitment, payment and pre-launch
  January 2025–June 2025

• Set-up and planning
  July 2025–December 2025

• Improvement Collaborative – live phase
  January 2026–March 2027
  
  
• Evaluation and reporting
  April 2027–September 2027

 

If you have any questions email supportImprovement@rcseng.ac.uk

For other Quality Improvement Collaborative opportunities visit QI Collaboratives