Surgeons’ performance data to be available from July

Data on performance of individual surgeons in nine specialties will be published from the beginning of July, the Royal College of Surgeons announced on 10 June.

Norman Williams, the college’s president and a colorectal surgeon, said at a press briefing, “We really do see this as a watershed moment for the profession, and it is all about transparency. I think it is most appropriate, particularly after the Francis report [on failings at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust] . . . and what we want to do is drive up standards to get everybody up to a really excellent standard.”

The move comes after NHS England’s commitment to publish outcomes for individual surgeons in December 2012.1 For the first time, publication of data will cover all NHS operations of named consultant surgeons in bariatric surgery, colorectal surgery, head and neck …