Association of Anaesthetists Year in Review 2021 | Association of Anaesthetists

Association of Anaesthetists Year in Review 2021

Association of Anaesthetists Year in Review 2021

Association of Anaesthetists wins award for Best Member Support during COVID-19

AoA winning memcom award

The 2021 Memcom Membership Excellence Awards were held on 30 September, recognising and celebrating excellence in professional bodies, associations, charities and the wider not-for-profit sector.

We were delighted to win an award for ‘Best Member Support During COVID-19’. Throughout the pandemic, the Association provided its membership with free COVID-19 guidance and resources, which have been accessed more than 150,000 times. We also published multiple case studies from frontline health workers and ran numerous free webinars. Bookings for these webinars spanned over 85 countries, illustrating the international demand for up-to-date patient care guidance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Recordings of all webinars were also made available for members and the speciality to download for free. The recordings were accessed more than 50,000 times. We also offered complimentary membership for returning NHS staff, due to the pandemic. This was to ensure that returning anaesthetists had access to the latest guidance and support from their Association.

Working in collaboration with the Royal College of Anaesthetists, the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine and the Intensive Care Society, we launched a multidisciplinary website containing information, guidance and resources to tackle COVID-19.

In a year where the Memcom awards received more entries than ever before, it was incredibly rewarding to see the Association recognised for its contribution to the specialty. Congratulations and many thanks to all the Association staff and members who helped us achieve this success.

Membership

Membership2_Review

Total members as of 31 March 2021 stood at 10,126 (2020: 10,002) which is an increase of 1.2% in the year. In the first half of our financial year (April – September) we welcomed 550 new members, compared with 454 in the same period last year. We have also seen fewer cancellations during our annual renewal cycle and have seen a 30% increase in our retention rate compared to 2020 renewals. Our largest categories of members are full members (50%), ST3-6 (21%) and CT trainee members (7%).

The Association has been proactive in marketing the benefits of membership to staff grade, associate specialist and specialty doctors (SAS/NCHD) and has established a network scheme for SAS doctors/ NCHDs. The Association also introduced a membership category for Anaesthesia Associates during the year.

Education and online learning

EducationOnline_Review

Responding to the challenge of delivering education during the COVID-19 emergency, we continued to convert face-to-face meetings to online. In 2021 we provided 32 online seminars with over 800 delegates, nine online Core Topics with over 800 delegates and three large conferences. Both the Winter Scientific Meeting 2021 (with over 1700 delegates) and the Annual Congress (with 800 delegates) were held virtually and a hybrid Trainee Conference 2021 in Newcastle had over 520 delegates, of whom 120 attended physically. We also introduced a series of ‘Education Shots': short, bite-sized education videos delivered by enthusiasts, ideal to listen to during a coffee break or when time is limited.

Online learning In 2021, we have put on 18 webinars, with 10,000 bookings, and 3800 views of the recordings. Our learning platform Learn@, now has 956 lectures available and has been transferred to a new platform, with new apps available. The system will allow you to create and store a CPD record of your reflections on these videos, and to record any other CPD activities you undertake.

Wellbeing

  • Advocacy for the wellbeing of members remains a high priority. This included continuing a high level of activity through the #FightFatigue campaign in 2021. The campaign is having an impact; Fight Fatigue resources are now endorsed by the Scottish Government and used on their National Wellbeing Hub. 
  • #KnockitOut, the anti-bullying campaign, is also continuing, with new infographics published online and in Anaesthesia News seeing it reach new audiences. 
  • We are also pleased to have launched Coffee and a Gas: A wellbeing podcast which covers topics from fatigue and sleep to mentoring, digital detox, and mental health. Episodes are released on a monthly basis via Podbean, Spotify and Apple Podcasts. We would like to thank Drs Nikki Sharma and Nadia Taylor for all their time and dedication to this fantastic resource. 
  • We have also produced a checklist detailing ’11 suggested actions for anaesthetic wellbeing leads and 7 actions for clinical directors’, which provides top tips and wellbeing resources for those who are leading on wellbeing in the department. 
  • Mentoring remains a high priority and as such we continue to provide mentoring training. In 2021 our mentoring course was held virtually, and our mentoring service continues to be available to our members.

Heritage

The Heritage Centre remained closed throughout most of 2021 but many of the activities were adapted to ensure members had opportunities to engage with their history. A new temporary exhibition, Going Green: Anaesthesia, Climate and Sustainability, was launched as an online exhibition. The Heritage Lates programme and group visits were converted to a virtual offering, with a total of seven Lates events and five group visits. A contemporary collecting policy was adopted and development of the collection continued with 15 COVID-19 oral histories being conducted. The centre’s social media engagement increased significantly gaining 650 new followers on Twitter. A new individual giving option (through Virgin Money Giving and text service) saw £105 raised for the centre, and they were successful in two grant funding applications totalling £14,815. One of the grants is funding an ongoing equality, diversity and inclusion project Lost in the Ether: Missing Perspectives within Anaesthesia.

A new immersive operating theatre has been installed in the museum, and we encourage you to visit when next at 21 Portland Place.

21 Portland Place

The Association’s headquarters at 21 Portland Place remained closed until July, with all staff working remotely as a result of COVID-19. While the building was closed, a project was undertaken to replace the passenger lift. The staff team have now returned to the building and are trialling hybrid working, splitting their time between working in the office and at home.

International Anaesthesia

group of healthcare workers in PPE

Through our charitable foundation, we fund a range of projects and activities to promote quality anaesthesia, critical care, pain management, patient care and associated sub-specialties in low-resourced environments through the exchange of skills and knowledge.

The International Relations Committee (IRC) brings together funding partners including the Association, Difficult Airway Society, Royal College of Anaesthetists, Regional Anaesthesia UK (RA-UK), Society for Intravenous Anaesthesia (SIVA) and the World Anaesthesia Society (WAS) to award grant funding for international projects.

During the last financial year, the IRC awarded funding for two grants totalling £9,538 before the travel restrictions enforced by COVID-19 resulted in the need to suspend the funding process. Funding will resume when it is deemed safe for both applicants and course attendees in-country. An IRC e-Education grant for innovative digital educational projects aimed at low to lower-middle income countries launched in the summer of 2021. Following the creation of the Association’s International Fellowship in 2020, our second International Fellow has been appointed for a one year term to continue to provide knowledge and support to the delivery of the Association’s international work as a co-opted member or the IRC and SAFE Steering Group.

Through our international book programme, we donate books to anaesthetic practitioners in low resourced environments. A number of selected publications are available for donation on request.

SAFE (Safer Anaesthesia from Education) programme
The SAFE programme is a collaboration between the Foundation and World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists (WFSA). July 2021 will mark the 10 year anniversary of SAFE following the first pilot course held in Uganda in July 2012. SAFE training courses have been created on obstetric and paediatric anaesthesia and the SAFE Operating Room. All SAFE courses are provided by trained volunteers with expertise in the specialty. The SAFE project has trained 5451 clinicians, mostly anaesthesia providers but also midwives, obstetricians, surgeons and other physicians in 45 countries. Over 1,050 clinicians have been trained as SAFE trainers.

Owing to the pandemic, the SAFE Steering Group agreed to suspend the SAFE funding rounds. Work is underway to digitise the SAFE project and learning material.

Dr Jolene Moore has recently taken over as chair of the SAFE Programme Lead and Chair of the SAFE Steering Group from Dr Isabeau Walker, who has been an integral part of the SAFE programme since its inception.

SAFE Africa fundraising campaign
In 2017, the charity launched a new fundraising campaign, SAFE Africa, which quickly gained momentum. The aim to raise £100,000 to support the delivery of SAFE training in Africa and this total has been surpassed. Since the start of the campaign SAFE Africa funding has been awarded to nine projects totalling £59,900. When the SAFE grant process re-opens for applications, with these generous donations, we aim to continue to scale-up the delivery of three-day SAFE obstetrics and paediatrics training courses and sustainably improve anaesthesia education and care in Africa in the long-term.

Safety

To promote safe anaesthesia through the provision of information, education, guidance and expert advice to anaesthetists and healthcare stakeholders, the Association is working in the following areas:

  • The Association has a Safety Committee that provides expert opinion on safety issues highlighted by members, the pharmaceutical industry, and equipment manufacturers. 
  • The Safe Anaesthesia Liaison Group (SALG) is a collaboration with the Royal College of Anaesthetists and NHS England/NHS Improvement and highlights potential or existing patient safety issues to those practising anaesthesia. The Safe Anaesthesia Liaison Group (SALG) launched a new website in 2021. 
  • We continue to work with other key stakeholders, e.g. MHRA, Barema and co-organised the Patient Safety Conference 2021, which took place online. 
  • The updated National Essential Anaesthetic Drugs List (NEADL) was published.

The publication of guidelines is a core activity in promoting patient safety. During 2021 new publications were produced on:

  • Ergonomics in the anaesthetic workplace 
  • Trainee Handbook 13th edition 
  • Less than Full-Time Training in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine: An A-Z guide (joint with the RCoA) 
  • Better musculoskeletal health for anaesthetists (joint with the Society for Occupational Medicine) 
  • Regional analgesia for lower leg trauma and the risk of acute compartment syndrome 
  • Recommendations for standards of monitoring during anaesthesia and recovery 
  • Fire safety and emergency evacuation guidelines for intensive care units and operating theatres (joint with the Intensive Care Society) 
  • Peri-operative management of patients with sickle cell disease 
  • Management of hip fractures 
  • Malignant hyperthermia

A working group has been set up to actively review and update older Association guidelines.

Environment

We recognise that our actions have an impact on the environment and we see sustainability and climate change as key strategic issues.

The Environment and Sustainability Committee is currently working on:

  • A joint task group with the Sustainable Development Unit has been formed to achieve goals set in the NHS Long Term Plan 
  • Supporting the Nitrous Oxide Project which is committed to flattening anaesthetic nitrous oxide emissions by minimising system waste, educating and promoting green practice, and assessing and applying nitrous oxide catalytic cracking technologies where appropriate 
  • 2021 is the third year of our fellowship in Environmentally Sustainable Anaesthesia in partnership with Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals and the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare 
  • Environmental Champions Network established 
  • Barema and Association Environment Award & Green Star Awards 
  • Webinars on the environment and sustainability 
  • Published Anaesthetic waste: Safe and sustainable disposal: a compendium of waste segregation flow charts for England and Wales.

Research and Innovation

Strategic priorities include patient safety, clinical outcomes, innovation, education and training, professional issues, environment, audits and QA/QI projects that involve guideline implementation.

Owing to COVID-19 there has only been one round of research grant funding in 2021, administered through the National Institute of Academic Anaesthesia.

The Annual Innovation in Anaesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Award 2021 went to Dr Tim Craft (Somnus Scientific Limited) with his innovation, Real-time blood propofol monitoring.

Diversity and Equality

The Association has published a Diversity and Equality policy setting out the commitment to equality and inclusion in all aspects of our work. The task group is currently gathering data to allow monitoring of diversity in our activities; reviewing diversity in the composition of our governance bodies; and focusing on improving gender balance in faculty delivering our educational events. A key aim is to ensure that we are responsive to the needs of the diverse population of patients and health professionals in the UK and Ireland.

Over the coming months, we will begin monitoring diversity across protected characteristics and integrating diversity and inclusion into all activities collaborating nationally and internationally.

Advocacy and Campaigning

The team has led the Association’s responses to legislation, select committee inquiries and public consultations, all of which have touched on issues that are of interest and relevance to the Association.

These include:

  • the Health and Care Bill that is currently going through the UK Parliament 
  • the Health and Social Care Select Committee’s inquiry into the pandemic caused by the backlog 
  • a consultation on proposed regulation for healthcare professionals, including anaesthesia associates 
  • Health Education England’s consultation on its long-term workforce strategy.

Meetings for the Association’s President with politicians across the UK have been arranged, including the UK Parliament and devolved legislatures, where we have raised issues on the Association’s agenda and have sought out opportunities to work with politicians on issues of mutual interest.

The team has been using engagement opportunities to promote matters that are of interest to Association members, such as the future of the workforce, recruitment and retention, trainee anaesthetists, the impact the pandemic has had on anaesthetists, patient safety, fatigue (see below) and environmental and sustainability issues.

More supporters are backing the Fight Fatigue campaign, including the European Patient Safety Foundation and the Intensive Care Society. We have also discussed the campaign in meetings with political stakeholders. The campaign’s working group is looking ahead at plans for the next 18 months. The Association will also continue to work on other campaigns including Age and the Anaesthetist and the Anti-bullying Alliance.

Representatives attended the 2021 Conservative and Labour party conferences, which took place in Manchester and Brighton, respectively. This provided an opportunity to engage with political and third-party stakeholders, build relationships and increase its profile.

Mike-Nathanson

Dr Mike Nathanson
President, Association of Anaesthetists

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