Anna Paisley, Consultant Upper GI Surgeon, College Council Member and Chair of the College’s Patient Safety Group, provides an introductory series of three blogs giving a brief background to the WHO’s WPSD and discussing the theme for this year of Safe Care for Every Newborn and Every Child, highlighting what the RCSEd is doing to mark this important day and running through some of the College’s current patient safety initiatives. 

Claire Morgan, Consultant in Restorative Dentistry, Dental Council Member and Deputy Chair of the College’s Patient Safety Group, shares the many current national UK strategies in place to improve safety in healthcare for newborns and children. 

George Youngson, Past RCSEd Vice President, Consultant Paediatric Surgeon and Chief Executive of KidsOR, and the KidsOR Team, shares the fantastic work of this important charity in providing much needed surgery in low- and middle- income countries of need. 

Malou Micola, RCSEd Global Health Initiatives Project Lead, shares how the College’s Global CARE programme has helped to lay the foundations for sustainable paediatric surgical care in South Sudan by funding the first year of training of the country’s first paediatric surgical trainee. 

Chloe Roy, Chair TriPS (Trainees in Paediatric Surgery), has contributed three blogs covering patient safety related issues important to paediatric surgical trainees. Topics covered include 1) Safe handover, 2) Importance of identifying and addressing parent/carer insights and concerns, and 3) Top Ten Tips for patient safety in paediatric surgery. 

Gillian Winter, SASL Doctor in Paediatric Surgery and SASL representative on the RCSEd Paediatric Surgery SSB, illustrates how SAS and Locally Employed Doctors lead from the front in improving the care of children. 

Andrew Martindale, Consultant Urologist, College Regional Surgical Advisor and Urology SSB Member, discusses the principles to be followed when managing children at the time they move from paediatric to adult care. 

Keiran Clement, Consultant Urologist NHS Tayside, discusses the importance of early assessment and diagnosis of acute scrotal pain in children. 

Steven Powell, Consultant Head and Neck Surgeon and Chair of the College’s SSB in Otolaryngology, provides two blogs, the first discussing neonatal airway management and the second early identification of hearing loss in children. 

Likhith Alakandy, Consultant Neurosurgeon and Chair of the College’s SSB in Neurosurgery, provides two blogs. The first highlights key aspects in the management of childhood hydrocephalus and the second focuses on the important topic of head injuries in children. 

Sarah Wood, Consultant Paediatric and Neonatal Surgeon, Divisional Governance Lead, Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust and Member RCSEd Paediatric Surgery SSB member, provides some personal tips on how to address the safety considerations for the built environment of neonates. 

Aidan Cosgrove, Consultant Paediatric Orthopaedic Surgeon, Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children, discusses how auditing services for developmental hip dysplasia can help to reduce the need for surgical intervention. 

David Sainsbury, Consultant Cleft and Plastic Surgeon alongside Lia Pattison & Christine Couhig Lead Cleft Nurses, Northern and Yorkshire Cleft Lip and Palate Service Newcastle upon Tyne, Mekonen Eshete, Professor of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and Cleft Lip & Palate Programme Lead Addis Ababa University College of Health Science Ethiopia and Pramila Shakya, Consultant Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon Nepal Burns and Cleft Centre, Kirtipur Hospital, Kathmandu, highlight the importance of the early detection of cleft lip and palate. 

Niamh O’Connell, Ophthalmology Specialist Trainee, and Daniel Morris, describes ways in which we can all work to reduce laser pointer injuries in children. 

Sarah Downey, Consultant Oncoplastic Breast Surgeon James Paget Healthcare NHS Trust and President of The Association of Breast Surgery, Ruth James, Chair International Committee Association of Breast Surgeons, and Ashu Gandhi, Professor of Breast Surgery Manchester, highlight the important principle that the best care for any newborn or child involves delivering the best care for their mother. She discusses how to best look after women who develop breast cancer during pregnancy. 

Shafaque Shaikh, Consultant Colorectal Surgeon and General Surgery Robotics Lead NHS Grampian, discusses the challenging topic of how to best manage general surgical abdominal emergencies in pregnant women. 

Professor Grant McIntyre, Dean of the College’s Dental Faculty, outlines important global perspectives of patient safety in childhood dentistry. 

Dr. Sarah Shah, Consultant in Paediatric Dentistry Royal London Dental Hospital, asks if we are doing enough to prevent an oral health and obesity crisis in children. 

Miss Tanika Gohil, Consultant in Paediatric Dentistry Kings College Hospital London, Safeguarding Lead for Paediatric Dentistry at KCH and Board Member for Dental Trauma UK, educates us on how we need to play it safe with Dental Trauma in Children. 

Dr. Claire Morgan shares her insights on how we can reduce the risk of wrong tooth extraction in children. 

Dr. Urshla Devalia, Paediatric Dental Consultant, University College Hospital London, President Elect for the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry and Managed Clinical Network Chair for Paediatric Dentistry East of England, highlights the crucial importance of good mouth care in children and tells us about her experiences as founding national lead for Mini Mouth Care Matters (Mini MCM), a UK initiative to raise awareness of this importance issue. 

Dr. Zahra Shehabi, Consultant in Special Care Dentistry and Dental Clinical Sustainability Fellow, Barts Health NHS Trust, explores how we can improve patient safety and access to dental care by optimizing the role of sedation in adolescent dental care. 

Dr. Lochana Nanayakkara, Immediate Past Chair World Federation of Haemophilia, Consultant in Restorative Dentistry and Director of Dental Education Barts Health NHS Trust, and Convenor of Dental Education RCSEd, discusses how best to manage children with developmental bleeding disorders, highlighting the importance of prevention, preparation and partnership. 

Michelle Moffat, Consultant in Paediatric Dentistry Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, highlights how good oral health is crucial in children suffering from congenital heart disease.