This research issue of the Bulletin is our first produced as the newly launched Centre for Research and Improvement (CR&I) and showcases work from across the portfolio of projects that the CR&I supports. 

The CR&I represents the amalgamation of HSRC and the Perioperative Medicine Clinical Trials Network (POMCTN), a natural progression which makes sense not only organisationally but practically as well. By bringing together the projects and their resources under one roof, the hope is that their collective power to inform, shape and develop our practice will be more powerful. Additionally, the wider systems influence of the findings of these research, audit and QI projects will be further reaching and even more impactful.

The CR&I’s aim is simple: that every anaesthetist, whatever their level of training or seniority, has the opportunity to be involved in research and improvement in a meaningful way for both them, and for patients.

The projects of the CR&I cover the breadth of both elective and emergency anaesthesia and perioperative medicine. Their findings are useful, for example, for clinical leaders in anaesthesia. The recommendations from national audit projects can be powerful leverage when writing business cases or presenting to the purse-string holders. For anaesthetists in training, the CR&I portfolio of projects provides ample structured opportunities to ensure that the parts of the curriculum pertaining to research and QI can be effectively completed. For specialists and consultants in anaesthesia and SAS Doctors, the CR&I projects, outputs and conferences will provide updates and CPD, as well as opportunities to develop their own interests should they wish.

In this Bulletin, we introduce to you our new cohort of CR&I fellows, update you on many of the CR&I projects, and give an overview of recent publications and outputs that we hope will be relevant, useful and interesting and can be printed off and put up in your departments to share with colleagues.

Applications for the next group of CR&I fellows will be open later this year. For an idea of what this year involves, two of our previous fellows have written about their experience (A year as a HSRC fellow). These fellowships are open to all anaesthetists, including SAS doctors, (below consultant and specialist level) and no previous research experience is necessary.

Thank you to all of you who go above and beyond, every day, to run research and improvement projects locally. Without you, none of this work could exist and the improvements and advances in patients’ care we have made as an anaesthetic community for our patients would never have happened.

We hope you find this research issue useful.