Happy
#WorldAnaesthesiaDay
🥳
Today we're celebrating & showcasing how important anaesthesia is & the vital role anaesthetists play in the care for all patients.
VP
@WHarropG
is kicking off the special celebration with a message to anaesthetists around the globe & the public.
Together with 18 other leading healthcare organisations, we are calling for
@DHSCgovuk
to strip
@gmcuk
of its power to appeal fitness to practice decisions before the end of this parliament.
This important change must not fall behind.
Happy
#PrideMonth
Anaesthesia has always been a specialty welcoming & celebrating diversity. We wish everyone an enjoyable
#Pride
, particularly our LGBTQ+ members & fellows.
Council Member
@traumagasdoc
shares a personal message on diversity & inclusivity
Good news! 🌳
Use of desflurane across the NHS has fallen from 20% to approximately 3% in the last 4-5 years, reducing emissions equivalent to taking 29,000 cars off the road.
#sustainability
The College has produced its first infographic for patients – a summary of common events & risks that healthy adults of normal weight face when having a general anaesthetic for routine surgery. Use the card to aid discussions with your patients
In wide-ranging Q&A with
@RCoANews
’ RA(A)s & Clinical Director Network,
@CMO_England
acknowledged the work of our members during the pandemic:
“The public owes anaesthetists a huge debt of gratitude to carrying the heavy load of the responsibility of caring for COVID patients.”
General anaesthesia is only used when the baby's life is imminently at risk. If such traumatic births lead to postnatal depression, then it's not the general anaesthesia that’s causing depression, but the traumatic nature of the labour & birth:
@BogodDavid
We are pleased to announce the topic for our 8th National Audit Project (NAP8) will be complications of regional anaesthesia (peripheral blocks and central neuraxial blockade) and other neurological complications of anaesthesia.
.
@RCoANews
is thrilled to announce that today Dr Fiona Donald has become the 25th leader of the Royal College of Anaesthetists in succession to Professor Ravi Mahajan.
Many congratulations Fiona!
We welcome the announcement of 100 new training places in England by
@NHS_HealthEdEng
following our
@RCoANews
State of the Nation report that shows a 1,400 shortfall of anaesthetists. Full story:
.
@RCoANews
is delighted to announce that Dr Fiona Donald has been elected (unopposed) as the College’s next President.
As President-elect, Fiona will take up office in September 2021.
Congratulations Fiona!
#TeamAnaesthesia
Sexual misconduct has no place within the workplace.
The experiences shared in the
@wpsms_org
report are wholly unacceptable and must not be dismissed.
We will play our part in implementing the recommendations:
Thank you to everyone who attended our EGM tonight and/or voted by proxy in advance. We apologise for the technical difficulties experienced during the meeting.
All six resolutions proposed by members were carried.
Full results:
The College has produced its first infographic for patients – a summary of common events & risks that healthy adults of normal weight face when having a general anaesthetic for routine surgery. Use the card to aid discussions with your patients
#HIW2019
Professor Ravi Mahajan has been elected President of the Royal College of Anaesthetists in succession to Dr Liam Brennan. Congratulations Ravi!
More information:
Our President has written to Amanda Pritchard, CEO of NHSE to request immediate action to address the inadequate resourcing of ANRO or to work with the College to identify a viable alternative to the current provision of anaesthetic recruitment services:
We're delighted to see that the outstanding work of our anaesthetic & intensive care colleagues, especially in the management of
#COVID19
, has been recognised in today's
#QueensBirthdayHonours
.
Congratulations to all those awarded 👏:
VP Fiona Donald spoke of the unique challenges faced by anaesthetists in training during COVID.
“Trainees are not junior student doctors unburdened by responsibilities. They balance home & family life around this often exhausting, demanding & antisocial job.”
The College’s Board of Trustees has called an extraordinary general meeting of the membership on 17 Oct 2023 at 6.30pm.
All eligible members will be emailed today with more info. Full EGM details, including resolutions, timeline and FAQs can be found here
We wish Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal, a very happy birthday.🎂
On behalf of the College & our members, we would like to thank our Royal Patron for her continued support of our profession.
#TeamAnaesthesia
We recommend that tranexamic acid (TXA) is considered in all adult surgical patients & administered if more than 500ml of blood loss is likely. This should be added to surgical checklists. 🧵
The benefits are presented in this open access BMJ article:
Are you as excited for
#WorldAnaesthesiaDay
as we are?😊
Here's a little sneak peek of all the great content to come tomorrow. Have a look out on our social media for brand new podcasts, blogs & web content.
Share your celebrations with us - we’d love to see what you're up to
Oops! Yes, us in the College Comms Team accidentally used the wrong image in this tweet. Be assured anaesthetists know the difference between a nasogastric tube & a cannula!! 🙂
Calling all
#paediatric
anaesthetists!
Our
@BeanoOfficial
strip with
@APAGBI
is out now.
Use it in your preop clinics to help alleviate children's anxiety & encourage them to prepare well for their operation.
#hospitalanxiety
Download & share:
College VP
@doctorhelgi
presenting the Dudley Buxton prize for ‘meritorious work in anaesthesia or in a science contributing to the progress of anaesthesia' to
@elboghdadly
. Congratulations Kariem!
#Anaesthesia2024
We are supportive of any measures that allow anaesthetists to familiarise themselves with policies & protocols in their ICU. It's important time is given to ensure staff are trained in the methods required to care for
#COVID19
patients
@traumagasdoc
Many congratulations to the
@gloshospitals
MERIT team for being awarded Anaesthesia & Perioperative Medicine Team of the Year at
#thebmjawards
👏🏽👏🏽
The team's response to the
#COVID19
pandemic by forming a scalable MERIT team was praised for its ingenuity.🏆
Using tranexamic acid can reduce risk of cancelling elective surgery because of limited blood stocks
@NHSBT
We recommend use of tranexamic acid is considered in all adult surgical patients & administered if >500ml blood loss is anticipated.
More info:
On behalf of everyone at
@RCoANews
we would like to congratulate Professor
@Kevin_Fong
on being awarded an
#OBE
during the 2019 Queen’s Birthday Honours this weekend, for his services to medicine & healthcare - an outstanding achievement & rightly deserved 👏👏👏
#BirthdayHonours
Many of our members are eligible to vote in the BMA ballot of junior doctors.
While matters relating to terms & conditions of service are not within our remit, we want the voices of our members to be heard & understood.
Joint statement w/
@FICMNews
We have a shortfall of 1,400 anaesthetists in the UK. This is a nationwide bottleneck in the rate at which operations can take place.
It is vital the government commits to boosting trainee numbers & retaining staff.
Our response to the spending review:
.
@RCoANews
&
@OAAinfo
agree that a recent retrospective study into the association between epidural analgesia during labour & risk of autism does not provide credible scientific evidence that labour epidurals for pain relief cause autism
We can't say thank you enough to all the incredible anaesthetists & intensivists out there on the frontline doing their best to manage
#COVID19
. We have utmost gratitude for what every single healthcare worker does for our safety & wellbeing
#ClapForCarers
#clapforNHS
"We’ve learnt from what we did last time & the chief difference is we're trying to run as much routine work as possible. But we haven’t got a spare supply of staff to look after
#COVID19
patients"
@traumagasdoc
on
@BBCNews
talking 2nd wave concerns [11:20]
The difference an epidural can make.
Professor Rachel Kearns shares findings of her study which analysed the childbirth and labour experiences of over half a million mothers in Scotland, comparing those who had an epidural with those who didn't.
@rjharrison79
#Anaesthesia2024
The College has produced its first infographic for patients – a summary of common events & risks that healthy adults of normal weight face when having a general anaesthetic for routine surgery. Use the card to aid discussions with your patients
.
@RCoANews
&
@FICMNews
encourage all their Fellows and Members, as well as other
#NHS
staff & members of the public, to be vaccinated against
#COVID19
.
Read our full statement here:
We are pleased to announce that Dr Fiona Donald has been re-appointed President for a 3rd and final term.
Dr Helgi Johannsson has been re-appointed Vice-President for a 2nd term, he will be joined by Dr Claire Shannon our newly appointed Vice-President.
'There are many patients waiting for us to restart normal activity...However, many - if not all of us - need time for rest & recuperation.'
@RCoANews
' VP, Dr Fiona Donald, discusses the need for meaningful breaks away from work.
We’re thrilled to launch the 4th edition of our Quality Improvement Compendium.
120 global experts created UK’s only collection of patient-focused anaesthetic quality standards reflecting the full breadth of anaesthesia.
Access the compendium here 👉
We are pleased to announce that Dr Claire Shannon has been elected as the College's next President.
Dr Chris Carey and Dr Toni Brunning have been elected Vice Presidents. Terms of office begin in Sept 2024.
Read more 👉
Anaesthesia is one of the 24/7 specialties – our work never stops.
But how can we work well at night and look after ourselves as well as our colleagues? Download the joint RCoA,
@AAGBI
and
@FICMNews
resources which includes info on how to
#FightFatigue
:
As highlighted in our joint guidance, planned surgery should not resume before we've secured a sufficient number & supply of staff, drug stocks, PPE & available ICU spaces. Staff & patient safety standards must be guaranteed first.
Today the College is delivering its first online exam with remote invigilation.
We wish all candidates taking their FRCA Primary MCQ exam all the best! Breath, focus - you got this 🙌
Our Board of Trustees has agreed to implement EGM resolutions 1 and 2 as summarised in our December update:
Our next steps will be to write to clinical leaders. We will publish the letter on our website so that members are kept updated.
Patients should be reassured: it is very uncommon to wake up during an operation. UK’s largest study
#NAP5
found awareness during general
#anaesthesia
is reported in ~1 in 20,000 operations . Clear & simple info can be found here:
🚨 New joint
#COVID19
guidance hub launched! 🚨
We've partnered with
@FICMNews
@ICS_updates
&
@AAGBI
to create & share new clinical guidance, information & resources for UK anaesthetists & intensivists to manage COVID-19.
📲 Visit for ongoing updates.
If anaesthetists in training are deployed in COVID-19 ICUs, this should count towards their CUT form. Training must be delivered & recognised. The progression of anaesthetists in training must be supported. Our guidance here will be reviewed & updated.
We are redeploying anaesthetic trainees onto COVID-19 ICUs but some have been told that this will again not count towards training. This feels like anaesthetic trainees are being penalised again for the skills they can provide.
@FICMNews
@RCoANews
@RCoAPresident
@AlisonPittard
We are very concerned about these changes and will follow up urgently with NHSE. Many members have found Practitioner Health services to be pivotal to continuing clinical practice and supporting mental health & wellbeing. It is vital that support for such services is maintained.
We're very happy to announce that Prof Ravi Mahajan has been re-elected as
@RCoAPresident
.
For his final term he'll be supported by our VPs Dr Fiona Donald & Prof William Harrop-Griffiths. Congratulations to the three successful candidates 🎉👏
➡️
Should we drop the term staff “wellbeing” and talk instead about staff experience? Most of the solutions to burnout are in the experience we have every day in our jobs.
#anaesthesia2022
.
@RCoAPresident
speaking out on
#PPE
: “Anaesthetists should not be expected to compromise their health & that of their patients due to PPE shortages. After taking everything into account if you decide that you cannot provide treatment we will support you.”
Congratulations to
@BetsiCadwaladr
anaesthetists on becoming the first anaesthetic department in Wales to achieve accreditation via the
@RCoANews
ACSA scheme - the department showed many areas of excellent innovation & accreditation is well deserved.
Today is
#ODPday
. We want to share our appreciation for the work of Operating Department Practitioners. Thank you ODPs for your hard work and dedication in delivering care for patients.
@CollegeODP
We're incredibly pleased our request to MDRS for a ST4 recruitment round for February 2023 intake (6-months earlier than planned) has been approved.
@UKANRO
will confirm the application window – likely summer '22.
Applicant guidance, further info & details will be shared soon.
Happy
#WorldAnaesthesiaDay
!
Today we’re sharing our ever popular
#FitterBetterSooner
resources to help your patients take control of their fitness before surgery. So stay tuned throughout the day.
To kicks things off,
@RCoAPresident
, shares some words of encouragement.
Ahead of the general election, we’ve published our manifesto, ‘Anaesthesia: solutions for an NHS in crisis.’
🧵 We’re calling on political parties to:
▪️ Urgently fund more places for doctors to train as anaesthetists, as part of a wider plan for specialty training.
🙌A very warm welcome to new Council members joining
@RCoANews
today:
➡️ Dr Mark Forrest
➡️ Dr Helgi Johannsson
@traumagasdoc
➡️ Dr Claire Mallinson
➡️ Dr Sarah Ramsay
➡️ Dr Claire Shannon
➡️ Dr Jamie Strachan
@strachanjamie
Welcome - it's great to have you with us!
Many congratulations to Jan Hansel
@VirtueOfNothing
from
@OfficialUoM
winner of the
#Anaesthesia2023
poster competition.
Clinical tests for confirming or excluding suspected oesophageal intubation: a diagnostic test accuracy systematic review and meta analysis.
#NAP6
is the largest ever study of anaphylaxis in anaesthesia & surgery. Areas are identified where changes may reduce risk of anaphylaxis & where improvement is needed during management of the most severe cases. Key findings & recommendations found here:
"As we were leaving the theatre, I realised that myself, as the anaesthetic trainee, the surgical registrar, the ODP, the medical student & the patient were actually all black & I'd never see than before."
Dr Daniel Olaiya
@Theflydoctor1
on what
#BlackHistoryMonth
means to him.
Huge congratulations to the Improving Tracheostomy Care team
@MFTnhs
- winners of
#TheBMJAwards
2020 Anaesthesia & Perioperative Medicine Team of the Year 🏆🥳👏
This is very well deserved & we're proud to recognise your outstanding work:
Newly-appointed
@RCoANews
President, Professor Ravi Mahajan said: “On behalf of all fellows members staff & Council I thank Dr Liam Brennan for his Presidency over the past 3 years. We have made significant progress during Liam's tenure - a legacy he should be rightly proud of.”
Happy
#WorldAnaesthesiaDay
! 💜
Our Vice President
@doctorhelgi
reflects on the importance of anaesthetists to the patient journey through hospital.
What makes you proud to be an anaesthetist?
Add your own reflection in the replies👇
#teamanaesthesia
#WAD22
Happy
#ODPday
to all our operating department practitioner friends and colleagues.
We are very grateful for everything you do to deliver great care for patients. We would be lost without you.
Follow
@CollegeODP
who are shining a spotlight on the profession
#ODPHiddenNoLonger
"Raising awareness of racism at all levels is important. The ‘I’m sure they didn’t mean it like that’ days should be over now."
@morefluids
shares her experience of being a black anaesthetist in training in our new
#RCoAblog
:
#BlackLivesMatter
Are you up-to-date with our latest
#COVID19
clinical guidance?
In collaboration with our 3 partners, we have created new guides on:
▶️Airway management
▶️Obstetric anaesthesia
▶️Critical care
▶️Simulation
▶️Cross-skilling
▶️PPE
▶️Drug demand-supply
👉
We know that next week’s industrial action will be a difficult time for our members.
As we have said before, junior doctors are a vital part of our NHS and they deserve to be appropriately valued and supported:
@FICMNews
@FacultyPainMed
(1/3)
The College is delighted to announce that Macintosh Professorships have been awarded to Dr Andrew Conway Morris
@Cambridge_Uni
and Dr Thomas G Smith
@GSTTnhs
.
Awards are made in recognition of outstanding contributions to the wider field of anaesthesia.
👉 New COVID-19 guidance published for ICM & anaesthesia: PRONE POSITIONING IN ADULT CRITICAL CARE & MANAGEMENT OF ACUTE RESPIRATORY DISTRESS SYNDROM
@RCoANews
@FICMNews
@ICS_updates
&
@AAGBI
create new guidance to manage
#COVID19
As we celebrate
#WorldAnaesthesiaDay
, Secretary of State
@MattHancock
pays a special tribute to our anaesthetists for the incredible job that you all have done ✉️
And the winners of the 2019
#BMJAwards
Anaesthesia & Perioperative Medicine Team of the Year category are
@SWBHnhs
for work creating trauma care bundles. Well done thoroughly well deserved!!
👏👏👏
“I’ve gone back to ICU from anaesthesia which reflects the fact we are all doing things we wouldn’t have dreamt of 6 months ago.”
@traumagasdoc
speaks to
@BBCNews
on coping with new demands facing hospitals & the resolve of the healthcare workers on the frontline during
#COVID19
On
#WorldAnaesthesiaDay
we celebrate anaesthetist’s hard work & dedication to their patients. Anaesthesia is the largest medical specialty, but the work can go under the radar. Learn about anaesthesia & how anaesthetists help patients each & every day
.
@RCoAPresident
: “The NHS cannot simply resume planned surgery services before sufficient resources are in place. While this is frustrating for patients we must get this right to avoid overwhelming the
#NHS
or putting healthcare staff & patients at risk.”
Remembering Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth today, seen here opening the first
@RCoANews
headquarters in Russell Square in July 1993, with the President of the College at the time, Professor Alastair Spence. Thank you Ma’am.
On this day 70 years ago the Faculty of Anaesthetists of the Royal College of Surgeons of England was founded! The same year as the NHS!
#NHS70
Here’s a picture of the first Board meeting in 1948 – the Faculty’s first dean Dr Archibald Marston CBE is seated in the centre
#RCoA70
Fantastic to see critical workforce data from the NHS’ largest medical specialty gaining such prominence in the
@Independent
. Follow
@RCoANews
tomorrow for more insight into the results of our survey:
@ShaunLintern
Today on
#WorldSleepDay
RCoA,
@AAGBI
&
@FICMNews
have launched
#FightFatigue
, a campaign to tackle the negative effects of shift working & fatigue on the
#NHS
workforce.
Support the campaign to back protected rest breaks & better access to facilities ➡️
We understand the disappointing situation many of our anaesthetists in training are facing.
Please see our statement to understand who sets the number of training posts & how we continue to advocate for an increase in UK anaesthetic training capacity.