Anaesthetists who manage patients with major trauma should consider undertaking Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS), European Trauma Course or equivalent training, and should update their training at regular intervals.
All children and young people should be assessed before their operation by an anaesthetist. Parents and carers, as well as the child, should be given the opportunity to ask questions and to be involved in the physical and psychological preparation for surgery.
The anaesthetist should not be responsible for performing the cardioversion; an appropriately trained physician, cardiologist or supervised nurse specialist is responsible for this role.50
Anaesthetic care should be consultant or autonomously practising anaesthetist led, when possible. A neurocritical care facility should be available if needed after the procedure or a monitored bed on a hyperacute stroke unit as appropriate.
As anaesthetists in training spend limited time in the specialty, departments should facilitate the delivery of structured training programmes, developed by the school of anaesthesia.5
Hospitals should have approved documentation defining safe staffing levels for anaesthetists and anaesthetic practitioners, including contingency arrangements for managing staffing shortfalls; annual reviews of compliance with these standards should be performed.
There should be a named consultant or other autonomously practising anaesthetist and obstetrician responsible 24/7 for all women requiring a higher level of care.40
Anaesthetists who primarily work on the labour ward during the night should be given opportunities to work on the labour ward during the daytime on weekdays.25
