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High-quality anaesthesia is pivotal to achieving successful outcomes following day surgery. The majority of anaesthesia for day surgery should be delivered by consultants or autonomously practising anaesthetists. Staff grade, associate specialist and specialty doctors and experienced trainee anaesthetists may also provide anaesthesia for day surgery. However, these doctors should be suitably experienced and skilled in techniques appropriate to the practice...

In units offering a 24-hour regional analgesia service, the duty anaesthetist should be resident on the hospital site where the regional analgesia is provided (not at a nearby hospital).

The lead obstetric anaesthetist should ensure that there are continuing quality improvement projects to maintain and improve the care in their units.²⁸

There should be specific consultant or autonomously practising anaesthetist programmed activity time for burn anaesthesia in hospitals where burn surgery is undertaken.⁴

Service developments outside the operating theatre (e.g. interventional cardiology) often place unintended demands on anaesthetists. The business plans for such services should include provision for anaesthetic services.

Robust procedures should be in place to report and investigate adverse incidents involving equipment, staff or patients. The published outcomes of these investigations should be disseminated to all relevant anaesthetists and others.

Anaesthetic assistants whether nurse or operating department practitioners, should be trained in the preparation of this specialist equipment to be able to support the anaesthetist in the delivery of lung isolation and one lung ventilation.

Robust procedures should be in place to report and investigate adverse incidents involving equipment, staff or patients. The published outcomes of these investigations should be disseminated to all relevant anaesthetists and others.

For children, a staff member with an advanced paediatric life support qualification or an anaesthetist with paediatric competencies should be immediately available.¹⁸⁰