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A Royal College of Anaesthetists/Difficult Airway Society airway lead should be appointed in all hospitals providing anaesthetic services.⁷

All patients undergoing elective procedures should be provided, prior to admission with information on their intended treatment pathway (day surgery or enhanced recovery) that is easy to understand.⁹⁶ This should include information on the operation, anaesthesia, recovery and postoperative pain relief. Provision of this information should be documented in the patient’s notes.⁹⁷ The written and verbal information given...

Non-specialist tertiary paediatric centres should have a multidisciplinary committee for paediatric care to formulate and review provision. This committee should involve anaesthetists, paediatricians, surgeons, emergency department representatives, senior children’s nurses, managers and other professionals, such as paediatric pharmacists. In some hospitals, this will also include critical care physicians.

There should be a policy in place for pregnancy testing in the under 16s. This should adhere to Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health guidance.²⁵

Anaesthetists should have been trained in this field to the standards required by the Royal College of Anaesthetists.¹³

Only individuals who appear on the voluntary register currently administered by the Royal College of Anaesthetists should be employed in the AAs role.¹⁴