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The use of an obstetric appropriate WHO style checklist before all surgical obstetric interventions should be the subject of regular audit and observational study.¹¹⁸

Discharge planning should be started as soon as the patient opts for surgery so that all essential resources and obstacles to discharge can be identified and dealt with, including liaison with social services. This will minimise late cancellation of operations and reduce the length of stay in hospital.⁷¹

All cases of maternal death, significant permanent neurological deficit, failed intubation or awareness during general anaesthesia should undergo case review, with learning from this shared locally and/or nationally.²⁷

Provision of supernumerary training sessions for non-specialist anaesthetists expected to provide out-of-hours or emergency care on the maternity unit should be the subject of review.¹³²

In units providing a programme of enhanced recovery from caesarean delivery, there should be regular audits of readmission rates for these women.¹³³

As well as the specific topics detailed above, a regular audit programme should encompass national audit recipes and standards.²⁷

Care should be taken to ensure that all audit, standards and guidelines documents carry clear definitions of terms such as ‘neuraxial analgesia rate’.¹⁷

Research in obstetric anaesthesia and analgesia should be encouraged. Research must follow strict ethical standards as stated by the General Medical Council (GMC).¹³⁴

Information should be made available to commissioners and to women in the early antenatal period about availability of neuraxial analgesia and anaesthetic services in their chosen location for delivery.⁵⁵

Every unit should provide, in early pregnancy, advice about pain relief and anaesthesia during labour and delivery. An anaesthetist should be involved in preparing this information and approve the final version.¹¹³