College welcomes new framework for the prioritisation of clinical care in Scotland

16 Nov 2020

The President of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow has welcomed a new Scottish Government announcement today that hospitals will be able to find the right balance between providing care for COVID-19 patients and those requiring other elective care during the current high level of cases in Scotland.

Speaking this afternoon after the Scottish Government announced the publication of a new “Framework for Clinical Prioritisation” in hospitals during the current COVID-19 pandemic, Professor Jackie Taylor said:

“We welcome the announcement today by the Scottish Government to introduce a new framework for the prioritisation of clinical care

“It’s right that all patients get the treatment they need and that we should seek to prevent backlogs of cases wherever possible, but our NHS services need to be able to find the right balance so that those patients who have the greatest clinical need are always able to be treated as a priority.

“This new framework should help facilitate this at a local level, so that hospitals in areas with high numbers of COVID-19 patients can re-balance their priorities in line with patient need and demand for hospital beds. This is exactly the sort of flexibility that’s required if we’re to be able to provide the best possible care for all patients at this critical and demanding time.”

The Scottish Government’s “Coronavirus (COVID-19): supporting elective care – clinical prioritisation framework” can be found on their website at:
https://www.gov.scot/publications/supporting-elective-care-clinical-prioritisation-framework/