All anaesthetic equipment should be checked before use in accordance with the Association of Anaesthetists published guidelines. Anaesthetic machine checks should be recorded in a log and on the anaesthetic chart.
Many patients undergoing elective procedures outside the operating theatre can be managed as day cases and should be assessed accordingly in conjunction with local guidelines. All patients should undergo an appropriate risk assessment and level of preoperative assessment in line with the GPAS recommendations in Guidelines for the Provision of Anaesthesia Services for the Perioperative Care of Elective and Urgent...
The following local guidelines should be held and easily accessible:
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated a trend within anaesthesia – a move away from direct laryngoscopy (DL) towards video laryngoscopy (VL) as the primary method of intubating the airway.1 Indeed, from recent conversations with my colleagues about their choice of airway tool, I’ve noted a general theme: DL is fast becoming an unfavoured and unfamiliar technique for management of a patient’s airway. This sentiment was reflected in the updated Difficult Airway Society (DAS) guidelines in 2015: laryngoscopy as part of Plan A can now comprise either DL or VL attempts.2
