Policy Impact
The College influences health policy to improve the quality of care and patient safety.
We believe that health policy should be evidence-based
We work to ensure that the views and experiences of physicians are taken into account by policymakers throughout the UK. We do this through the development and advocacy of our own strategic policy, by responding to a wide range of consultations, and by engaging with policymakers and other stakeholders. Sharing the views of our Members and Fellows, we aim to stimulate media, public, political and medical discussion about issues important to physicians and the future of healthcare in the UK.
Starting the “National Conversation”
We think it’s essential that we have a national conversation about the future of the NHS. In order for the public to be fully armed with the facts, we believe that all political parties must be honest with people about the sustainability of the NHS – including what steps can be taken to ensure that the “free at the point of use” principle remains.
We were pleased that as a result of influencing work by us and others, the Scottish Government agreed to hold a debate on the future of health and social care, at the Scottish Parliament.
Addressing the harm of drugs in Scotland
The College has taken a serious interest in drug deaths and drug related harms, particularly since 2019, when the extent of Scotland’s relationship with drugs was revealed by the National Records of Scotland. Since 2019/20, we have consistently made the case for safer consumption facilities, the rollout of a heroin assisted treatment programme, and the decriminalisation of the possession of drugs for personal use. We’re pleased that we have made an impact, as defacto decriminalisation has now been realised, and Glasgow has become the setting for Scotland’s first safer consumption facility.
Workforce
From UK political party conferences in Birmingham, Liverpool, and Brighton to exhibitions at the Scottish Parliament, workforce has been a key component of our influencing work. We’re pleased that our calls for more medical school places across the UK have been met. But we’re also clear that this must be matched by an expansion of medical training places.
While this has happened to an extent, we are clear that in order to address bottlenecks in the system, more training places are required. We were pleased that our call to double the number of “widening access in medicine” places was included in the SNP manifesto for the Scottish Parliament election in 2021.
“Fundamentally, we recognise that the current level of funding available means we cannot provide everything that modern healthcare can now offer from “cradle to grave”. As a result we must have a debate about whether we increase funding, through direct taxation or some other means, or make reasoned decisions about what we can and cannot provide from the public purse.”
Prof. Andrew Elder, RCPE President
Public health and health inequalities
Smoking, poor diet, physical inactivity and harmful alcohol use are leading risk factors driving the UK’s high burden of preventable ill health and premature mortality.
We are pleased that our calls for a “sugar tax” we realised, and we were proud to support our sister organisation, Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems, in arguing the case for Minimum Unit Pricing, which is now policy. We have also worked with ASH Scotland and others in calls for a “smokefree generation” and we have consistently called for action on vaping products, including disposal vapes, which governments across the UK have begun to address.
