As outlined in the section about our network, the role of the Surgery in Children Operational Delivery Network is extremely broad with many different areas and clinical teams who we work with and support. The network is overseen and reports into it’s Partnership Board which has managerial and clinical leads from each hospital across our region, as well as input from commissioning colleagues. Network members are asked to support the identification of key areas of focus for our work and our network priorities. The network has developed an operational structure which supports delivery – this includes specific clinical groups with set priorities, and groups whose activities are more generic across different areas of children’s surgery. The Board is responsible for agreeing the operational structure and the proposed priorities – the focus over 2020 and 2021 has been around supporting the restoration of children’s surgical services following the covid19 pandemic.
There was also enthusiasm across the region for the establishment of three clinical working groups: Ear, Nose and Throat, General Surgery & Urology and Trauma and Orthopaedics, and all three commenced activity in 2021 with positive cross-regional representation. Additional priorities have been identified including a pre-assessment group which was established to support the delivery of the new national guidelines from the Association of Paediatric Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland and a group looking to optimise pathways for children undergoing an MRI procedure. More information regarding the membership and priorities of these groups can be found on this website through the Network Members section.
