Search

In a designated major trauma centre, the receiving trauma team should include an anaesthetist with appropriate airway and damage control resuscitation competencies to manage trauma patients.^48,49

Anaesthetists should have specialised knowledge of the effect of concurrent medications, anaesthetic agents, anaesthetic techniques and equipment on the conduct and efficacy of ECT, as well as the specific anaesthetic contraindications.^70,71

Standards of accommodation for doctors in training should be adhered to.²⁹ Where a consultant or other autonomously practising anaesthetist is required to be resident, on-call accommodation should be provided.²⁸

An appropriately trained and experienced anaesthetist with regular commitments to burn and plastic surgery should be present during the conduct of general and regional anaesthesia for operative procedures, including those procedures requiring intravenous sedation where it has been agreed that this will be provided by the anaesthesia department.

Patients requiring burn or plastic surgery procedures should be managed by anaesthetists who have an appropriate level of training in this field. They should have a regular commitment to the burn and plastic surgery specialty and should have acquired the relevant knowledge and skills needed to care for these patients.

Because burn care is a small specialty with relatively few anaesthetists able to participate in burn care during training, each service should have plans in place to establish and maintain an appropriate anaesthesia workforce.⁵⁹

If no anaesthetist is present in theatre, an appropriately trained anaesthetic nurse, ophthalmic theatre nurse or operating department practitioner should be present to monitor the patient during establishment of local anaesthesia and throughout the operative procedure. This should be their sole responsibility.²

The level of staffing should be sufficient for the consultant leading the emergency anaesthesia team to be able to provide a continuous emergency anaesthesia service in the theatre complex without interruption. Other service requirements, e.g. remote sites, trauma calls and advice should be anticipated and managed through local arrangements.²⁵ Anaesthetists assigned to provide cover for emergency lists should not...

Training for anaesthetists to attain stage 1, stage 2 and stage 3 competencies in pain medicine, as specified within the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA) 2021 curriculum should be provided.³ Training opportunities can include allied health professional led reviews with appropriate education supervision from a recognised RCoA trainer. Where stage 3 training including Specialist Interest Areas in acute inpatient...