Equipment for managing the airway, including the difficult airway, emergency drugs, resuscitation equipment and a defibrillator should all be available.
Standards for monitoring and recovery are stipulated by the Association of Anaesthetists and should be adhered to for all ECT cases.10
General anaesthesia for dentistry should be administered only by anaesthetists in a hospital setting as defined by the Department of Health report reviewing general anaesthesia and conscious sedation in primary dental care.54
Guidelines including those published by the Association of Paediatric Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland for the management of children referred for dental extractions under general anaesthesia should be followed.55
The complexity of endoscopic techniques is increasing and patient comorbidities are challenging to operator delivered sedation. Hospitals should have a protocol for the delivery of sedation. Appropriately trained personnel should deliver these techniques and follow locally developed protocols.
Anaesthetic staff providing care in the endoscopy suite should be familiar with the facility, equipment and techniques.
Protocols should be in place to manage high risk patients, e.g. those with significant gastrointestinal bleeds within an operating theatre, especially out of hours.
All anaesthetists should be fully familiarised with all remote areas of anaesthetic provision, e.g. as part of their induction process, prior to undertaking anaesthetic procedures in that location.56 This should include familiarisation with the layout of the hospital and the location of emergency equipment and drugs, access to guidelines and protocols, information on how to summon support/assistance, and assurance...
Anaesthetic trainees should have successfully completed the relevant higher units of training.60
