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The article reports on the Royal College of Surgeons' consultation paper "Delivering High-Quality Surgical Services for the Future." The group recommended that surgeons in England and Wales form a network and work as teams in a specific area, rather than for the individual NHS hospital trusts. The consultation paper also focused on surgical training standards. The College's president, Bernard Ribeiro, comments on health service policy.

The article analyses British Health Secretary Andrew Lansley's privatisation plans for National Health Service (NHS). In a white paper presented by Lansley on July 12, 2001, the health secrerary noted that any willing healthcare provider will be allowed to deliver services to NHS patients as long as they provide high quality standards of care. Information is presented on the failure of Hinchingbrooke, a 369 bed complex in Cambridgeshire, England, which could be the first to be privatised under the initiative.