Association statement on the SAS Collective's 'SAS Six'

Association statement on the SAS Collective's 'SAS Six' 

Wellbeing and providing support to anaesthetists of all grades is fundamental to the work we do at the Association of Anaesthetists. 

We are therefore pleased and proud to support the SAS Collective’s ‘SAS Six’. 

The SAS Six are a set of guiding principles designed to improve the careers of SAS doctors. We encourage all organisations to adopt these principles and to test themselves against them:

1. Every early career SAS doctor should have access to an educational supervisor.
2. All SAS doctors should have equity of access to professional development opportunities relevant to their stage of career.
3. All Speciality Doctors who meet the required capabilities should have the opportunity to become Specialists.
4. Senior SAS doctors should be offered the opportunity to be educators at every level on a par with consultants e.g. educational supervisors, clinical supervisors, directors of medical education.
5. All extended roles in leadership and management should be open to all substantive medical staff i.e. consultants AND appropriately experienced SAS doctors.
6. All locally employed doctors employed for more than two years within one trust should be offered the opportunity to transfer to the appropriate SAS contract.

Association president Matt Davies said: "Despite being a crucial group of workers in the NHS, SAS doctors do not always have the same agency or protections enjoyed by other groups. We encourage all departments of anaesthesia to reflect upon the experience of their own SAS doctors and make changes for the better. The SAS Six is a good place to start."

The Association's Honorary Treasurer and SAS doctor Emma Wain said: "This is a fantastic initiative to improve the working lives of SAS and LED anaesthetists to the benefit of patients and the NHS as a whole. There is a wealth of talent in this often-overlooked part of the workforce that departments can harness. The SAS six provides a template for anaesthetic departments and other organisations to follow in starting this process. Further details to assist with their implementation can be found in the Association SAS handbook published on our website."