Guidelines under review

The Association’s guidelines and statements are regularly reviewed, typically five years after publication, to ensure they remain current and relevant.

The review process is overseen by the Guidelines and Working Parties Committee. Reviews generally take between 12 and 18 months to complete, although some may take longer depending on the scope of the work and the workload of the group.

At the end of the process, all completed guidelines and statements undergo a thorough consultation process, giving the Board of Trustees and members the opportunity to provide feedback on the content. This is an opportunity to help ensure that each document is accurate, relevant and meets the needs of its intended users.

Consultations in progress:

• None

Consultation complete: Pending approval and publication

• Day case surgery (update)
• Pre-operative assessment and patient preparation (update)

Review in progress

The review or development of the following guidelines or statements have been approved and is either underway or scheduled to begin shortly:

• Anaesthetic/Theatre waste pathways (new)
• Checking the anaesthesia work station (update)
• Guidelines for the safe practice of total intravenous anaesthesia (TIVA) (update)
• Infection prevention and control (update)
• National Essential Anaesthesia Drugs List (NEADL) (update)
• Neurodivergence in anaesthetists (new)
• Peri-operative fasting in adults and children (new)
• Regional anaesthesia and patients with abnormalities of coagulation (update)

Review due to start

• Anaesthesia for cardiac disease in pregnancy (new)
• Arterial line blood sampling; preventing hypoglycaemic brain Injury (update)
• Cell salvage for peri-operative blood conservation (update)
• Checklist for draw over anaesthetic equipment (update)
• Consensus Statement on Rapid Sequence Induction and Intubation in adult patients (new)
• Peri-operative care of people with dementia (update)
• Management of hip fractures (update)
• Immediate post-anaesthesia recovery (update)
• Anaesthesia practice in the independent sector (update)
• Managing Intrahospital transfers for critically ill and peri-operative patients (new)
• Peri-operative guidance for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (new)
• Peri-operative management of obese surgical patient (update)
• Wellbeing of anaesthetists (new)

Under review

The following guidelines are under review to confirm the next steps:

• Audio/visual recording of doctors in hospitals (update)
• Better musculoskeletal health for anaesthetists (update)
• Controlled drugs in peri-operative care (update)
• Ergonomics in the anaesthetic workplace (update)
• Fire safety and emergency evacuation guidelines for intensive care units and operating theatres: for use in the event of fire, flood, power cut, oxygen supply failure, noxious gas, structural collapse (update)
• Peri-operative management of patients with sickle cell disease (update)
• Recommendations for standards of monitoring during anaesthesia and recovery (update)
• Safe provision of anaesthesia in MRI units (update)
• Safe transfer brain injured patient (update)
• Safety guideline: neurological monitoring associated with obstetric neuraxial block (update)
• Syringe labelling and critical areas (update)

To find out more about the review process, recommend a new guideline, or suggest an existing guideline or statement for review, please visit the Working pages webpage.

You might also be interested in: