Clinical leaders within anaesthetic services should be an integral part of system planning including how to deliver planned care and emergency care. They should have influence in all areas in which anaesthetists contribute to service delivery.8
The department should have a live, regularly reviewed annual plan describing service changes, estates developments, workforce developments and wellbeing, working conditions, capacity demand modelling and other relevant operational improvements. This will ensure that the department is responsive to requests for additional resources across all areas of activity.
Clinical leadership roles should be designed to be desirable and exciting opportunities for anaesthetists. Appointment processes to clinical leadership roles should be open and transparent.
The department should have a clinical leader for the whole department. The clinical lead should be part of the wider overall hospital management structure. They should lead with compassion and foster a learning culture within the service they manage.9
There should be anaesthetic clinical leads with clear and agreed responsibilities for different areas or specialties. The number of leads will depend on the size of the anaesthetic department, their areas of specialisation, workload and any ongoing areas of special focus. The list below is not exhaustive and not applicable to all departments:
The department should collaboratively review the structure and performance of the leadership team as a whole on an agreed schedule to ensure that it remains effective and fit for purpose.8 Clinical leaders should have annual reviews of performance in leadership and management duties. The annual review should by conducted by someone competent to do so with an understanding...
The department should have adequate remunerated time allocated to all clinical leaders to perform their roles in integrated governance, which recognises the breadth and depth of their roles within the department and wider hospital management structures.5,13 Adequate remunerated time may be facilitated through diarising time spent on a role and reviewing this as part of the job planning process.
Clinical leaders should have processes to work with their team in an iterative way to develop guidance and share these ongoing developments with the team and beyond.
There should be clarity of leadership and roles in the coordination of the day to day running of theatres, including the emergency anaesthesia service. Those undertaking these roles should be visible, clearly identifiable and easily accessible at all times.
Appropriate training and development should be offered across all aspects of a leadership role and identified in personal development plans (PDPs) as part of whole practice appraisal.
