If appropriate resources are not available, the level of clinical activity pertaining to those resources should be limited, to ensure safe provision of perioperative care.4 The hospital policy for determining, communicating and documenting this process should have input from the anaesthetic department.
Anaesthetists with commitments to regional and national work should have appropriate support through job planning. Departments should take into consideration both the impact this has on the rest of the department, as well as the considerable benefits local departments gain from having staff undertake anaesthetic regional and national roles.
Patients who are discharged from hospital prior to resolution of a nerve block should be provided with written information about the expected duration of the block, who to contact should they experience any issues related to the nerve block and clear instructions regarding appropriate analgesia around the time of block resolution.
