The supervising consultant anaesthetist should not be responsible for more than two anaesthetised patients simultaneously, where one involves supervision of a AAs.3
Translations or interpreters should be made available if required.
Information should be made available to patients, which gives details of the surgery and local and general anaesthesia for ophthalmic procedures, as well as advice on what to expect on the day of admission. The Royal College of Anaesthetists and the Royal College of Ophthalmologists have a range of booklets available on their websites to help to inform patients.46,47,48
Written instructions regarding the plan for the perioperative management of existing medications, including if and when to stop anticoagulants, should be given to the patient.
Written information for patients should be easy to read in order to optimise comprehension. It should be available in an appropriate language and format for those patients who are visually impaired.49,50 It may be necessary to provide translations of patient information booklets into languages suitable for the local population.
In each hospital providing neuroanaesthesia, a neuroanaesthetist should be appointed as the clinical lead (see glossary) to manage service delivery. Adequate time for this role should be included in the lead’s job plan.
