Departments should commit to providing the time and resources to educate those who provide anaesthetic care for patients by facilitating access to education and training. Continuing professional development (CPD) and education should be balanced between the individual’s clinical and other areas of responsibility.19,73
Departments should have regular clinical governance time where educational activity and clinical governance activity can take place. Clinical activity should be reduced during clinical governance time to maximise attendance, which should ideally occur monthly.
Anaesthetists should demonstrate engagement with ongoing education and CPD as required.74
All staff should have access to adequate time, funding and facilities to undertake and update training that is relevant to their clinical and non-clinical practice, including annual mandatory training.
The department should have a structured educational training programme for anaesthetists covering updates on new techniques and practice developments.
All anaesthetists should complete training in adult and paediatric life support, safeguarding and consent, appropriate to their clinical practice and case load (emergency as well as elective). Knowledge and skills in these domains should be maintained through CPD and planned as part of annual appraisal and personal development plans (PDP).
Anaesthetists who provide out of hours cover to areas of practice that they do not provide in working hours, should be able to demonstrate the maintenance of appropriate skills and knowledge through regular clinical involvement and CPD. This should be facilitated during working hours where possible.
All anaesthetists should receive non-clinical training and education, which should be reflected in job plans and job planning. The list of topics should be agreed by the department according to local need, but is likely to cover management, education, EDI and communication skills.
Staff should have regular training in the application of the legislation determining mental capacity in the part of the UK in which they are working and have defined access to patient advocates. This is a rapidly changing area and clinicians should have access to expert advice.
Teamwork is fundamental to the safe delivery of patient care. Organisations should ensure, as far as possible, that theatre teams are consistent and coherent, familiar with the procedure and therefore able to provide a consistent standard of care safely and efficiently.38
