If responsibility for care is transferred from one anaesthetist to another, a ‘handover protocol’ should be followed, during which all relevant information concerning the patient’s medical history, medical condition, anaesthetic status, and plan should be communicated.180
Where the postoperative destination is not a main ICU (e.g. a level 2 HDU or specifically developed PACU), the patient should remain in PACU until they are stable and are no longer likely to require immediate support from an anaesthetist. This is of particular importance when transferring patients from recovery to level 2 critical care units that are not staffed...
Job reviews should take into consideration individual risk assessments for anaesthetists in the context of environmental threats, ill health, pregnancy and breastfeeding, menopause, fatigue, and the impacts of ageing. Where relevant advice from an accredited specialist in occupational medicine should be sought.27
Departments should consider having flexibility in the day-to-day rota so that there are more anaesthetists working in a clinical area, such as a theatre suite, than there are procedures being carried out to ensure that this cover is always immediately available. The size of the additional staffing resource is dependent on the number of anaesthetic procedures underway simultaneously and the...
