RCPCH is involved in the development of paediatric clinical guidelines in two ways:
- as a developer of RCPCH guidelines, and
- as a formal stakeholder on guidelines developed by other organisations such as NICE, SIGN, other Royal Colleges and organisations.
As a health professional, you can participate in various ways such as:
- attending scoping workshops
- joining guideline development groups (as a chair or topic expert)
- providing comments during the consultation of drafts to influence recommendations for practice.
Sign up for updates
Let us know if you're interested to get occasional email updates on consultations, publications and courses courses on clinical guidelines.
Become an expert reviewer on our decreased consciousness guideline
We are inviting additional reviewers to support the update of this guideline, which was last updated in 2015. You will extract key data and critically appraise research papers using templates and clear guidance. The opportunity is open to paediatricians from ST1, and no prior experience is needed.
This is a great opportunity to contribute to a nationally recognised paediatric guideline while gaining valuable experience in evidence reviews and appraisal. You will volunteer collaboratively, with support from College staff. You can use this towards your CPD and we'll acknowledge all reviewers in the final guideline.
Current and forthcoming consultations
Current
- - consultation dates: 15 May to 11 June 2026
Forthcoming
- - consultation dates: 26 June to 11 July 2026
About the consultation programme
As of March 2023, we support paediatric Specialty Groups and Special Interest Groups to respond directly to consultations on clinical guidelines that are developed by NICE, SIGN and other national organisations.
Why we recommend that these groups respond directly to NICE instead of RCPCH
There are several advantages:
- Reduce duplication of consultation invitations and submission of responses - as organisations such as NICE are increasingly approaching Specialty Groups for comment.
- Specialty Groups will typically have more time to directly respond to NICE - without the earlier deadline set by RCPCH to collate comments and review before submission.
- Acknowledge the contribution of each Specialty Group / Special Interest Group in influencing paediatric recommendations for practice.
- Enhance effective communication between RCPCH members and NICE.
What groups need to do to get involved in NICE guidelines?
The chair, convenor, secretary or other nominated member of a Specialty Group or Special Interest Group will need to register as a formal stakeholder with NICE on their website.
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- You will receive emails from NICE to be part of clinical guidelines relevant to your group's specialty or special interest. This includes invitations to nominate experts to be involved in guideline meetings and to submit comments to guideline drafts.
- We recommend that you share these consultation requests with your group's members and collect their comments. As a stakeholder, you will be able to review comments and then submit your group's response to NICE.
- Your group will be acknowledged and listed as a formal stakeholder responder.
Here are some more details for Specialty Groups/Special Interest Groups and for members of those groups:
We will continue to inform members of opportunities to get involved in guideline development
We will post forthcoming consultations and opportunities to get involved on the development of paediatric guidelines on this web page and on our social media channels, including and
We will continue to email interested members about guideline consultations, published guidelines and training opportunities -
Frequently asked questions about the consultation programme
- I am the nominated contact of my Specialty Group or Special Interest Group - how do I register our group with NICE?
If you are acting on behalf of your Specialty Group or Special Interest Group (eg you are the chair, convener, secretary or nominated member), please and receive invitations to consult on guidelines.
- I am a member of a Specialty Group / Special Interest Group - how can I participate in guideline development?
We recommend going through your Specialty Group / Special Interest Group - find email addresses on our contacts page.
You can register as an individual with NICE, but please note NICE is not obliged to consider or respond to individual comments.
- I am NOT a member of Specialty Group / Special Interest Group - can I participate in guideline development?
Yes, you can still participate. We encourage you to comment on guidelines by liaising with the relevant Specialty Group or Special Interest Group based on the guideline topic - find email addresses on our contacts page.
You can register as an individual with NICE, but please note NICE is not obliged to consider or respond to individual comments.
- I am a doctor in specialty training - can I participate in guideline development?
Yes, you can still participate. We encourage you to comment on guidelines by liaising with the relevant Specialty Group or Special Interest Group based on the guideline topic - find email addresses on our contacts page.
You can register as an individual with NICE, but please note NICE is not obliged to consider or respond to individual comments.
- I am on the RCPCH clinical guidelines consultation panel - will I still hear from RCPCH?
Yes, we will still email you about clinical guidelines that match your interests.
For non-RCPCH guidelines, we will usually encourage you to get in touch with the relevant Specialty Group or Special Interest Group, though occasionally we will request comments from you on a NICE guideline.
For RCPCH guidelines, we will invite your comments.
If you would like to update your contact details or clinical interests for the consultation panel, please complete the consultation panel form. (This does not link to your RCPCH online account.)
- Can I still contact RCPCH to respond on behalf of my group if I feel the College is best placed to respond to a consultation?
Yes. Please contact the team at guidelines@rcpch.ac.uk before the submission deadline if you are concerned that this is an area of controversy that you would like to bring to the attention of RCPCH. This is particularly pertinent for guidelines that are high profile and / or controversial.
- Where do I find paediatric guidelines in development?
We will promote guidelines developed by NICE and other national guideline organisations so you can engage via your Specialty Group / Special Interest Group. Information will be updated regularly on this web page.