Where cardiothoracic surgery is scheduled to occur immediately after Caesarean section, there should be early involvement of obstetricians, specialist obstetric anaesthetists, neonatal paediatricians and midwifery services.
The standard of monitoring in the obstetric theatre should allow the conduct of safe anaesthesia for surgery as detailed by the Association of Anaesthetists standards of monitoring.41
Women requiring critical care in a non-obstetric facility should be reviewed daily by a maternity team including an anaesthetist. 4
If any major restructuring of the provision of local maternity services are planned, the lead obstetric anaesthetist should be involved in that process.24
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.
The supervising consultant anaesthetist should be easily contactable and should be available to attend within minutes of being requested by the AAs.112
The service should be delivered by an appropriately trained team, with specific skills in paediatric pain management and paediatric anaesthesia. Paediatric pain management services may be provided by paediatricians or anaesthetists.
Where scheduled procedures cannot be accommodated within normal list times, anaesthesia departments should make arrangements for anaesthetists to be relieved by a colleague.8
