Each unit should have a designated clinical lead (see Glossary) anaesthetist who is responsible for cardiac anaesthesia services. This should be recognised in their job plan and they should be involved in multidisciplinary service planning and governance within the unit.
Cardiac anaesthesia is a ‘key unit of training’ for stage 2 training in anaesthesia.42 Trainee anaesthetists should be of appropriate seniority to be able to benefit from this area of training.
Consultant or autonomously practising anaesthetists intending to follow a career in paediatric cardiothoracic anaesthesia should have higher training in general paediatric anaesthesia of at least one year followed by a specialist training period of an appropriate duration in the subspecialty.
All anaesthetic equipment should be checked before use in accordance with the Association of Anaesthetists published guidelines. Anaesthetic machine checks should be recorded in a log and on the anaesthetic chart.16
Consultant or autonomously practising anaesthetists intending to follow a career in paediatric thoracic or cardiothoracic anaesthesia should have higher training in general paediatric anaesthesia of at least one year followed by a specialist training period of an appropriate duration in the subspeciality.
To maintain the necessary repertoire of skills, anaesthetists providing a burn and plastic surgery anaesthesia service should have a regular commitment to the specialty, and adequate time must be made for them to participate in a range of relevant CPD activities.
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
All patients undergoing anaesthesia should be under the overall care of a consultant or other autonomously practising anaesthetist whose name is recorded as part of the anaesthetic record. 276
