This message is from John Bolton, Interim Chief Medical Officer for Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
SAS Week provides the opportunity for employers and national stakeholders to celebrate the specialty, associate specialist, and specialist (SAS) doctor workforce. This year, SAS Week is running from Monday 6 to Friday 10 October.
I want to share my appreciation for the work of our SAS doctors. They are an integral part of our workforce in our Trust. There will be many people in our communities who will not have heard of SAS doctors or know what they do, it is important that we work together to raise their profile and the key role they play in our NHS.
SAS doctors are a group of highly skilled clinicians who, alongside delivering care, provide leadership in teaching and training, are involved in quality improvement programmes and are involved in initiatives that improve clinical care. SAS doctors provide flexible, skilled, and consistent support to multidisciplinary teams.
We are very privileged and proud of the contributions made by SAS doctors who have been with both the Trust and their individual teams for some time. Every clinical support unit is represented by at least one SAS doctor. Our SAS doctors play a role in patient care as well as ensuring continuity of care by providing cover and support for colleagues. Without SAS doctors we would not be able to deliver the range of services that our communities rely on.
I would like to take this opportunity to say a heartfelt thank you to all of our SAS doctors and for them to know that we very much value your contributions.