The UK Diploma in Anaesthetics: A world first in the path to an independent specialty
Professor Emeritus, University of Dundee, UK.
President, History of Anaesthesia Society, 2006–2008.
Honorary Archivist, Royal College of Anaesthetists, 2012–2015.
In 1935, the DA was a World first and served as the definitive academic qualification for anaesthetists in the UK for just over a decade. Thereafter its primacy was replaced by the Fellowship qualification, but the DA continued as a GP anaesthetist qualification, significant events in its story marking the route to a fully independent specialty.
This account has its origins in the author’s appointment as honorary archivist to the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA) in 2012, initial exploration of the role revealing that the College possessed relatively little in the way of documentation of the years between 1948 (establishment of the Faculty of Anaesthetists) and 1982 (the move from the Royal College of Surgeons of England). This was discussed with the then president, Dr J-P van Besouw, and he suggested that it might be possible to search the library and archive of the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) so that all relevant documents could be scanned to provide digital copies for our use. He approached his opposite number at Lincoln’s Inn Fields to explore the possibility, and received ready agreement to the exercise which started with a search for, and identification of, the relevant documents. These were then scanned and the files transferred to portable storage media to allow uploading to a permanent home on our own system, all elements of this process receiving ready help from the RCS library and archive staff. During the initial search for documents, it became apparent that there was important, but unknown information on the Diploma in Anaesthetics (DA), this suggesting that detailed study would be appropriate. What follows is the result.
That it is 13 years since the nominal starting point noted above might suggest a dilatory approach, but that would be an unkind conclusion. The processes of identifying and copying documents took a considerable amount of time, and other archival projects, notably a revamp of the heritage section of the RCoA website and establishment of the Lives of Fellows project took priority. As a result, specific search and analysis of the material for information on the DA did not begin until others took on the responsibilities of honorary archivist (Dr Anne Thornberry 2015) and editor of the ‘Lives’ project (Dr Alistair McKenzie 2021). I thank them, and the two subsequent honorary archivists (Dr Anna-Maria Rollin, 2020, and Dr Janice Fazakerly 2025), for their support, as well as that of the College’s immediate past Director of Membership, Media and Development, Graham Blair, and those who were our archivists, Rosemary Sayce and, more recently, Gillie Lyons. However, this is perhaps the point to note that any opinions expressed are the author’s, and do not represent College policy in any way.
The real work began about five years ago in that carefree time before Covid changed so much, although ‘lockdown’ actually helped initially because the restrictions placed on social activity provided lots of time for the project! However, it soon caused difficulty because analysis of key material provided questions which could only be answered by return visits to the RCS to check other documents, these not becoming available until the archive was open again. Such visits were not facilitated by the author’s home then being in Scotland, any benefit accruing from a return to native Gloucestershire being more than countered by the distraction produced by the move. However, the last 18 months have seen rapid progress, and it is appropriate to thank Dr Anna-Maria Rollin again, this time for her comments on each section of new text as it emerged. The aim has been that this account will reach its target audience on, or soon after, the 90th anniversary of the first DA examination – November 1935.
Comments and suggestions will be most welcome.