Academy of Medical Royal Colleges: Safe sedation practice for healthcare procedures - An update (February 2021)

Summary

Sedation for therapeutic and investigative procedures in healthcare is extensively and increasingly used. In 2013 the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (the Academy) published Safe sedation practice for healthcare procedures: Standards and guidance (this updated and replaced earlier guidance). The guidance recommended core knowledge, skills and competencies required for the safe delivery of effective sedation. It also highlighted that safety will be enhanced by the provision of achievable standards, along with the availability of appropriate facilities and monitoring used under good organisational governance of staffing, equipment, education and practice.

However, despite this, avoidable morbidity and mortality continue to occur. Service reviews by the Royal College of Anaesthetists’ (RCoA’s) Anaesthesia Clinical Services Accreditation (ACSA) programme suggest that the recommendations in the 2013 guidance have not been fully acted upon by many hospitals. Therefore, this update summarises the recommendations to provide regulators with a set of standards against which to inspect facilities providing sedation and to ensure that safety standards are being met.