title: Survey of anaesthetic support staff in obstetric units in England and Wales.
abstract: In order to determine the current level of support provided to anaesthetists on the labour suite, a postal questionnaire was sent to the lead consultants of the 257 obstetric units in England and Wales. One hundred and ninety-five replied, a response rate of 76%. Of those who replied, only 1% of units experienced frequent delays to elective obstetric lists due to lack of an anaesthetic assistant and 141 units (72%) had a designated assistant for the labour ward. However, 58 units experienced delays waiting for an anaesthetic assistance in emergency situations (29%). One hundred and sixty-eight units (86%) had an operating department practitioner/nurse (ODP/N) resident on call for the hospital, but not exclusively for the maternity unit. In 76% of units, midwives assisted the anaesthetist when inserting regional blocks in labour. More than one-third of respondents thought that it would be appropriate to have a dedicated ODP/N resident on call for the labour ward who would also assist with labour analgesia blocks.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, Imperial School of Medicine, Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital, Du Cane Road, London, W12 0HS, UK.
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Qureshi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stevens
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Plaat
mesh_terms: D015360:Analgesia, Epidural / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000761:Anesthesia Department, Hospital; D000773:Anesthesia, Obstetrical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D004630:Emergencies; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital / Q000523:psychology; D009775:Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Hospital; D010823:Physician Assistants / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D011247:Pregnancy; D014852:Wales; D000078329:Workforce; D016526:Workload