Every unit should provide, in early pregnancy, advice about pain relief and anaesthesia during labour and delivery. An anaesthetist should be involved in preparing this information and should approve the final version.142
All anaesthetic equipment should be checked prior to use in accordance with the Association of Anaesthetists’ published guidelines.127 Anaesthetic machine checks should be recorded in a log and on each patient’s anaesthetic chart.
All anaesthetists should receive non-clinical training and education, which should be reflected in job plans and job planning. The list of topics should be agreed by the department according to local need, but is likely to cover management, education, EDI and communication skills.
The provision of formal and systematic training should be considered. Head and neck surgery provides an excellent opportunity for training anaesthetists in the use of advanced methods for airway management and the shared airway, including videolaryngoscopy, flexible bronchoscopic, and jet and apnoeic oxygenation techniques.
In all hospitals undertaking major vascular anaesthesia a vascular anaesthetist should be appointed clinical lead (see Glossary) to manage service delivery. This should be recognised in their job plan, and they should be involved in multidisciplinary service planning and governance within the unit.
The children’s IPS should be delivered by an appropriately trained and experienced MDT, with specific skills in paediatric pain management and paediatric anaesthesia. The team may include clinical nurse specialists, anaesthetists, paediatricians, surgeons, pharmacists, child psychologists and physiotherapists.
At centres where 24/7 primary percutaneous coronary interventions are performed, and in designated heart attack centres that include out of hospital cardiac arrest patients, there should be provision for immediate availability of a resident anaesthetist, skilled assistance and appropriate equipment and facilities.
