8 September 2005
Scotland is leading the way with the first ever national review of anaesthesia services undertaken anywhere in the UK. The report, conducted by NHS QIS, measured performance against detailed national standards covering all aspects of anaesthesia including the delivery and safety of patient care, organisation of the service, training and maintenance of equipment.
Scotland is leading the way with the first ever national review of anaesthesia services undertaken anywhere in the UK.
The report, conducted by NHS QIS, measured performance against detailed national standards covering all aspects of anaesthesia including the delivery and safety of patient care, organisation of the service, training and maintenance of equipment.
The key findings include:
- Anaesthesia is delivered to a high standard and has demonstrated continuous improvement in recent years.
- Equipment is well maintained with modern safeguards in place to protect patients.
- NHS QIS standards are used widely in anaesthetics departments. Their use should be extended to include all departments where anaesthesia is used, including A&E and maternity.
- Staff are highly trained. A target date of 2008 has been set by which time all anaesthetic assistants should meet new training requirements and further work is required to achieve this.
- There is a need to ensure High Dependency Unit (HDU) beds are available in sufficient numbers wherever major surgery is carried out.
Click here to read the National Overview and Local Reports.
Commenting on the report, NHS QIS Chairman, Lord Naren Patel, said
¿When going into hospital for an operation, patients often feel just as concerned at the prospect of the anaesthesia as they do over the procedure itself. They ask a very simple question: is this safe? For the very first time anywhere in the UK, Scotland can answer that question, and the answer is a resounding ¿yes¿.
¿We are leading the way by setting standards for anaesthesia and then reviewing performance against those standards. We covered the full range of issues from the organisation of the service, to training and maintenance of the equipment. We tracked how the NHS is performing before, during and after an operation.
¿What we found was a reassuringly high standard of care that is steadily getting ever better.
¿As always, there are ways that the service can be improved even further. Information to patients could be better; we need more high dependency beds; and, outside of the operating theatre, we want to see improved training and the most modern equipment provided. Recommendations on these detailed points will now be implemented across Scotland.
¿This has been a groundbreaking report into a service that provides care to hundreds of thousands of patients every year. Our findings should reassure them that they are in very good hands indeed.¿
Editors Note:
NHS QIS has been established to lead in improving the quality of care and treatment delivered by NHSScotland. To do this it sets standards and monitors performance, and provides NHSScotland with advice, guidance and support on effective clinical practice and service improvements.
The NHS has seen a successful reduction in anaesthesia mortality rates over last 50 years from one death per 5,000 anaesthetics administered to one death per 200,000 anaesthetics administered.
The reviews of performance for each NHS board were conducted between June 2004 and March 2005.
Media Contact:¿Patrick Maitland-Cullen on 07813 095 930