Royal Cornwall Hospitals honoured in new SAS doctors award

Around 150 doctors at Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust do work that keeps departments running day to day without ever holding a consultant title. A new national award has just put a number on how well the trust looks after them.

One of the first trusts in England to get it

Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust is one of nine trusts across England to receive the first SAS Excellence in Development (SEiD) Recognition Award, and has come away with the SEiD Silver Award. The award recognises the trust’s commitment to supporting the development, wellbeing and career progression of its Specialty, Associate Specialist and Specialist doctors, known across the NHS as SAS doctors.

Three trusts achieved a bronze award. Six, including Royal Cornwall Hospitals, took silver. The awards were presented by national medical directors Sir Chris Whitty and Professor Frankie Swords, Director General for People Danny Mortimer, and Director for Education and Training Sheona MacLeod.

A workforce of around 150

Vanessa Wright, Associate Specialist at the trust, said the recognition reflects the scale of what the trust’s SAS doctors do. “We’re delighted to receive this award. We have around 150 SAS doctors working across our sites, who play a vital role in delivering high-quality patient care and improvement across our hospitals. It’s great to have our work recognised. We remain committed to building on this success and creating opportunities for professional development, career progression and a positive working environment for all our colleagues.”

What the SEiD Award measures

The SEiD Award was developed by NHS England to recognise organisations that demonstrate excellence in supporting and developing their SAS medical workforce, a group that sits alongside consultants and trainees but has historically had a less clearly defined career path through the NHS.

For a trust running acute and specialist services across a large, rural county, that development and retention question carries extra weight. Cornwall depends on its SAS doctors staying in post and progressing rather than moving on for the sake of a clearer career ladder elsewhere.

Nine trusts nationally were recognised in this first round of awards. Whether the scheme becomes an annual fixture, and whether Royal Cornwall Hospitals sets its sights on gold next time, is not yet clear.