World Anaesthesia Day 2024
16 October 2024
On World Anaesthesia Day, we join the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists (WFSA) in advocating for Workforce Wellbeing. Being an anaesthetist is a rewarding and satisfying career. But it’s not without its challenges. The wellbeing of all our members, and those who work within the anaesthesia community, is an integral part of our work here at the Association. As two thirds of patients have contact with an anaesthetist during a hospital stay, improving wellbeing in the workforce is essential for anaesthetists and also benefits patient safety as well as service delivery.
When anaesthetists face times of difficulty, we highlight resources such as ‘I need help now’ and we will shortly be publishing our ‘Catastrophe Handbook’. We recognise developmental mentoring as an important personal and professional development tool and would encourage hospital trusts and health boards in the UK and Ireland to offer mentoring to staff as vital part of career development. Our aim is to ensure every anaesthetist (at all career stages) has easy access to a mentor within or external to their place of work when they are faced with a change, opportunity or challenge. Members have complimentary access to the Association’s mentoring scheme.
We continue to support member wellbeing through our education and advocacy work. Together with the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA), we advocate that every department should have a wellbeing lead to support the health and wellbeing of staff. To support this recommendation, we have jointly published a Wellbeing Lead job description. We collaborate with organisations who support doctors in a time of need, for example NHS Practitioner Health, and we are delighted that this vital service has secured funding until March 2026.
Dr Robert Self
Wellbeing Steering Group Chair