Both independently and with other partners and stakeholders, we regularly publish policy asks and reports on key areas that impact on the healthcare workforce.
The Time Is Now: an Action Plan for the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly Election
On behalf of hundreds of doctors in Northern Ireland, the three UK Royal Colleges of Physicians have come together to launch an action plan for the next Northern Ireland executive. Read our calls to action on workforce, health inequalities, and pandemic recovery in Northern Ireland.
The Scottish Medical Workforce: Planning, Supply and Retention Solutions to meet the medical workforce challenges in NHS Scotland
The paper reviews current key issues and outlines a series of meaningful, realistic, and achievable actions to be considered to address the imbalance between workforce and workload in NHS Scotland. Our recommendations fall within the three interlinked areas of workforce planning, workforce supply and workforce retention.
Life in the time of Covid-19: the 2020 UK consultant census
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the NHS, but the pressure on its systems and medical workforce as shown by the 2020 UK consultant census are not new. Put simply, the number of doctors and other clinicians needed to meet patient demand continues to significantly outnumber the supply. As the NHS moves from crisis management to recovery, we must take the opportunity to address this long-term issue.
Wealthy nations must do much more, much faster
Health is already being harmed by global temperature increases and the destruction of the natural world, a state of affairs health professionals have been bringing attention to for decades. The science is unequivocal; a global increase of 1.5°C above the pre-industrial average and the continued loss of biodiversity risk catastrophic harm to health that will be impossible to reverse. Despite the world’s necessary preoccupation with covid-19, we cannot wait for the pandemic to pass to rapidly reduce emissions.
Recovering the healthcare workforce and service for our patients
Our workforce is extremely fatigued. Many are suffering from psychological distress and mental health disorders, and there is a huge backlog of patients waiting for care across all specialties. While treatment has continued for most patients in the highest risk groups, there are high levels of morbidity among patients in lower risk groups, which impacts on their function and quality of life.
This is what we stand for: Our Holyrood election manifesto
The events of the past year have placed a huge burden on our health service and all those who work in it. While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to generate enormous challenges, we are proud of the vital part our membership has played in providing excellent patient care.
This is what we stand for: Our election manifesto for England and Wales
Although the pandemic brought the best out of our NHS and its staff, it has also highlighted and exacerbated the ongoing challenges that we have faced over the past few years.
There are key issues that need to be addressed urgently which are outlined in Our Election Manifesto.
Scottish Academy manifesto 2021
The Scottish Academy represents the collective clinical and professional views of Scotland’s medical professions. It is warning that the lasting health impact of COVID-19 on Scotland’s poorest households – as well as on other vulnerable groups including the elderly and those living with disabilities - could be devastating unless mitigating action is taken by politicians.
Good practice guidance for providing a travel health service
This new publication sets out to define the standards of care every practitioner should achieve in their practice of travel medicine for the health and safety of the international traveller. The guidance can also be used as a self-assessment guide to identify key areas for continuing professional development.
Census of UK Physicians
2020 has been dominated by the profound effects on the UK NHS of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the census covers the pre-COVID period, as the NHS moves from crisis management to recovery, longer term issues will need to be addressed.
Medical consent
Despite how it can often feel in the middle of a busy clinic, or at the start of a full theatre list, consent is more than obtaining a signature on a piece of paper. It is a process that is part of patient-centred care and begins with finding out what matters to the patient, identifying what options are reasonable – including the option of no treatment – and helping the patient decide which option suits them best.
Latest news and statements
Key priority areas
Key links
Tweets by @rcpsglasgow