The anaesthetic department should escalate those risks that are identified as being beyond the control of the clinical service to those charged with overall hospital/organisation risk management. The department should receive a response and regular update if the risk is not satisfactorily mitigated against.
An anaesthetic office space located in close proximity to relevant departments (e.g. theatres, ICU and labour ward) should be available to allow local supervision of trainees. The size of this space should be proportionate to the size of the department.121
Private office spaces should also be available for CPD, to conduct assessments and for confidential meetings such as appraisals.
The department should have access to appropriately sized and resourced meeting facilities for education, training and clinical governance activities.
Departments should consider providing staff with access to virtual meeting software to facilitate remote attendance at meetings or education activities.
Mechanisms should be in place to enable staff to access hospital systems remotely to work from home, as local circumstances dictate.
There should be sufficient administrative staff and facilities to support all aspects of the anaesthesia service to enable it to perform its duties safely and efficiently.
The department should have a process in place to deal with ad-hoc patient queries about their treatment. Patients should be advised how to access this process.122
Departments should have reliable access to wi-fi, in clinical areas to ensure checklists, standard operating procedures, national guidelines and other electronic systems can be securely accessed by computers and other handheld electronic devices.
Information systems should allow for regular reporting and locally customised reporting tools to support QI work.
