A support system and guidelines developed in conjunction with occupational health professionals should be in place to help anaesthetists returning to clinical work after a period of absence from clinical practice.21, 22 These could include, but are not limited to, returning after parental leave, or returning following long-term illness.23
Appropriately trained healthcare workers monitoring patients who have undergone regional anaesthesia should be specifically trained with their competencies clearly defined according to the Association of Anaesthetists’ requirements for post-anaesthesia care unit (PACU) recovery nursing.29 This individual should be able to recognise symptoms and signs of local anaesthetic toxicity.25
Those who refuse transfusion of blood or blood products, whether because of adherence to the Jehovah’s Witness faith or for other reasons, should be identified early in the antenatal period. They should meet with an anaesthetist to discuss their specific wishes and should receive information about the potential risks associated with their decision to ensure informed consent process.118...
Preoperative assessment, optimisation and shared decision making in patients with multiple comorbidities, frailty or cognitive impairment require a cross specialty approach involving anaesthetists, surgeons, geriatricians, pharmacists and allied health professionals. Liaison with a clinical pharmacist in the perioperative period will enable optimisation of medicines and improved management of the patients’ non-surgical comorbidities during this time. The development of such teams...
Some aspects of preanaesthetic assessment and preparation of the emergency patient differ from those of the elective patient. These include severity of illness, fluctuating condition of the patient, and the 24/7 nature of emergency work. Staffing levels and seniority of anaesthetists should be adequate to enable preanaesthetic planning and assessment that is appropriate to the patient’s risks associated with surgery...
Appropriate staffing levels and skill mix should be provided in all units, multispecialty general hospitals, isolated units and large single specialty centres, delivering ophthalmic anaesthesia. For most operating sessions, this should include surgeon, anaesthetist, two theatre trained scrub practitioners, one trained nurse or operating department practitioner to assist with local anaesthesia/patient monitoring, and one theatre support worker/runner.2,3
