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At least one anaesthetist in each anaesthetic department, not necessarily an obstetric anaesthetist, should take the lead in safeguarding/child protection⁸⁶ and undertake training and maintain core level 3 competencies. The lead anaesthetist for safeguarding/child protection should liaise with their multidisciplinary counterparts within the obstetric unit.

MTC and TU anaesthetic departments should consider appointing anaesthetists with an interest in prehospital care (see Glossary). Anaesthetists who provide prehospital care outside the hospital setting should be qualified to do so.⁹⁷

Children undergoing thoracic procedures have special requirements and the responsibility for their care should ideally lie with a dedicated paediatric anaesthetist, particularly a cardiothoracic or thoracic paediatric anaesthetist.¹⁸ Surgery should only be performed in a specialist tertiary paediatric centre.

Burns anaesthetists should have access to and knowledge of nasendoscopy.

Consultant or other autonomously practising anaesthetist support should be contactable at all times and have a response time for attendance on site of not more than half an hour to attend the delivery suite and maternity operating theatre. The supervising anaesthetist should not therefore be responsible for two or more geographically separate obstetric units.

A named anaesthetist should be responsible for liaising with consultants in other departments who have responsibility for sedation, to establish local guidelines and training for the provision of safe sedation by non-anaesthetists.^2,3,89