Perioperative time should be allocated for the work the anaesthetist undertakes on the day of procedure for both pre and postoperative care. The time required for pre and postoperative care will vary and should be accounted for in individual job plans.
Anaesthesia departments should have a nominated anaesthetist immediately available (see Glossary) and free from direct clinical responsibilities to provide cover in clinical emergencies, as well as providing advice and support to other anaesthetists.41
Anaesthesia associates should work within the scope of practice and levels of supervision defined by the RCoA188.
AAs should always work within an anaesthesia team led by a consultant or other autonomously practising anaesthetist who has overall responsibility for the anaesthesia care provided for the patient and whose name should be recorded in the individual patient’s medical notes.119
Anaesthetists providing supervision to other anaesthetists or AA’s should be easily contactable, able to provide the level of supervision required by individual supervisees and free to attend in an appropriate timeframe.119
Clinical governance of AAs should follow the same principles as that applied to medically qualified staff. This should include training that is appropriately focused and resourced, supervision and support in keeping with practitioners’ needs and practice responsibilities, and practice centred audit and review processes.
Staff assigned to the role of anaesthetic assistant should not have any other duties that would prevent them from providing dedicated assistance to the anaesthetist during anaesthesia.41
