Guidelines for the provision of anaesthesia services: The good department 2023 (31 January 2023)

Summary

These Guidelines for the Provision of Anaesthetic Services (GPAS) support the development and delivery of high quality anaesthetic services. GPAS chapters have previously focused on a particular aspect of clinical service delivery. However, experience has identified a requirement in GPAS to describe what it is about a department of anaesthesia itself, beyond the different aspects of the clinical service delivery, that contribute to a successful department. 

The Good Department chapter has been developed to address this requirement, describing current best practice for developing and managing a safe and high quality anaesthesia service in terms of the non-clinical aspects of the service that underpin the clinical provision.

The guidance makes recommendations in terms of:

• leadership, strategy and management
• workforce
• education and training
• clinical governance
• support services.