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The anaesthetist should be with the patient at all times while the patient is under anaesthesia. In hospitals employing AAs, this responsibility may be delegated to a AAs, supervised by a consultant anaesthetist in accordance with the scope of practice for AAs.^3,4

MTC and TU anaesthetic departments should consider appointing anaesthetists with an interest in prehospital care (see Glossary). Anaesthetists who provide prehospital care outside the hospital setting should be qualified to do so.⁹⁷

A named anaesthetist should be responsible for liaising with consultants in other departments who have responsibility for sedation, to establish local guidelines and training for the provision of safe sedation by non-anaesthetists.^2,3,89

Anaesthetists in an IPS post need to demonstrate an ongoing significant interest in pain management by involvement in continuing professional development (CPD), appraisal and job planning. The minimum training requirement for new appointments of IPS anaesthetists is stage 3 special interest area in acute inpatient pain. 

Consultant or other autonomously practising anaesthetist support should be contactable at all times and have a response time for attendance on site of not more than half an hour to attend the delivery suite and maternity operating theatre. The supervising anaesthetist should not therefore be responsible for two or more geographically separate obstetric units.

Children undergoing thoracic procedures have special requirements and the responsibility for their care should ideally lie with a dedicated paediatric anaesthetist, particularly a cardiothoracic or thoracic paediatric anaesthetist.¹⁸ Surgery should only be performed in a specialist tertiary paediatric centre.