Anaesthetists account for £10bn worth of hospital income

Anaesthetists are involved in the care of two-thirds of patients, who account for £10bn worth of hospital income.

Yet a third of patients admitted to hospital on the day of their operations did not meet their anaesthetist beforehand, or only for a few minutes.

And patients needing complicated anaesthesia were treated by the most inexperienced staff, the report found.

Hospitals complained of shortages of consultant anaesthetists. One in five NHS trusts claimed they found it difficult to schedule operations, offer a full epidural service to mothers or staff chronic pain clinics as a result.

However, the study found that some hospitals employed nearly 50% more staff than others to provide the same services.

It said the number of patients anxious or in pain would be reduced if:

• staffing arrangements were improved,

• guidelines were drawn up about the level of care required for the complexity of a condition,

• and there was greater co-ordination and collaboration between staff.

"Such improvements will result in real benefits to the quality of care patients receive."

Government and doctors welcome report

Less than 50% of northern hospitals have specialist acute pain relief teams

The report has been welcomed by the Government which claims it is in line with the recent White Paper on the NHS.

However, ministers admit there have been problems recruiting enough anaesthetists and say action is being taken.

The Health Minister Baroness Jay said: "Our national plans mean that the number of anaesthetists will continue to grow. It is important therefore, that the services they provide are organised as effectively as possible to meet the needs of patients in our modern NHS."

The Government was committed to reducing unacceptable variations in NHS performance such as those found in the report.

The Association of Anaesthetists and the Royal College of Anaesthetists also welcomed the report but added that adequate resources must be made available to ensure that anaesthetists maintain a quality service with the highest level of patient safety.

To coincide with publication of the report, the Patient Association launched a national campaign to put patients more in control of their pain relief.