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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

An appropriately trained and experienced anaesthetist should be present throughout the conduct of anaesthesia for all procedures, including those procedures requiring intravenous sedation (where provision of this service has been agreed by the anaesthetic department). In exceptional circumstances, for example, where urgent treatment for another patient requires the anaesthetist to leave the patient, they should delegate responsibility to another appropriate...

All patients requiring anaesthesia, pain management, or perioperative medical or intensive care should have a named and documented supervisory autonomously practising anaesthetist (see Glossary) who has overall responsibility for the care of the patient. To ensure the safety of patients, anaesthetists in training, staff grade, associate specialist and specialty (SAS) doctors who are not autonomously practising and anaesthesia associates...

Hospitals should have well-integrated arrangements that ensure anaesthetists covering long neurosurgical procedures or overrunning lists have regular breaks covered by an appropriate colleague for refreshment and comfort breaks.^6,7,8,9 If a case is expected to run over three sessions, consideration should be given to organising a second anaesthetist.

A ‘block room’ utilising a parallel processing method is a cost-effective model for providing regional anaesthesia in a theatre environment. Staffing numbers may be determined locally depending on how many beds are in the block room but there should be sufficient numbers of trained staff to both assist the anaesthetist and monitor patients. Staffing in the block room should be...

Any anaesthetist working on the labour ward should also regularly undertake non-obstetric work to ensure maintenance of a broad range of skills.

Anaesthetists should be an integral part of locally developed networks looking at obstetric services.²⁵

Anaesthetists caring for paediatric burns patients should be trained in paediatric multimodal pain management.⁵¹

Clinical leadership roles should be designed to be desirable and exciting opportunities for anaesthetists. Appointment processes to clinical leadership roles should be open and transparent.

Multidisciplinary support for preoperative assessment staff from other physicians, medical specialists, anaesthetists, surgeons and pain management teams should be available.