RCS and University of Manchester announce partnership

The Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) has announced a partnership that will see its surgical education courses delivered at the University of Manchester.

The RCS provides educational and practical workshops for surgeons and other medical professionals. The new partnership will make the University of Manchester the RCS’s ‘outreach hub in the North and Midlands’, with RCS faculty members delivering courses using the state-of-the-art facilities at the university. The RCS is also increasing its regional activities.

The partnership comes as the RCS redevelops its headquarters in London, limiting the amount of courses it can host in its own buildings for the next three years.

The RCS is developing its building as part of Project Transform, which will see the space become a modern and light facility, providing the best education, examination and research resources for the nation’s surgeons.

Derek Alderson, RCS President, said: “We are very excited to be visiting the University of Manchester today to launch this partnership. The university’s excellent facilities will allow us to continue to offer the wide range of cross-specialty and professional development courses that surgeons and other medical professionals have come expect from the RCS at the highest possible standards.

“We are also delighted to be creating a hub outside of London, something we know our members have asked for in the past.”

Peter Clayton, head of the School of Medical Sciences, University of Manchester, said: “The role that the Royal Colleges play in benefiting patients and healthcare in the UK is immeasurable and the University is honoured and delighted that the College has chosen to partner with us to deliver a significant portion of its education programme and to establish a hub for the North and Midlands. For the surgeons who will pass through these doors, the value of being able to update their skills and the opportunity for the RCS to train more junior colleagues in a simulated environment will make a significant contribution to the skills of these professionals.”