Departments of Anaesthesia that have chosen to employ Anaesthesia Associates, as part of a team approach to service provision, have been able to demonstrate benefits from an early stage.
These have included:
a reduction in theatre downtime between cases requiring complex anaesthesia, leading to increased throughput on lists
a reduction in theatre downtime on dynamic lists such as trauma surgery or where same day admissions are employed
an increase in the number of supervised lists for trainee doctors
a reduction in locum payments or cancelled lists when 2:1 supervision is employed
where AAs have received further training in local anaesthetic and other techniques, medical manpower has been released for other tasks
extended roles currently include sub-tenon blocks, regional anaesthesia (nerve blocks), spinal anaesthesia, sedation, intravenous regional anaesthesia and pre-operative exercise testing.
There are multiple resources and examples throughout the website to help employers and potential employers realise the full benefits the role can being to their patients.
There is no published evidence that the provision of anaesthesia using a team approach reduces the safety or efficacy of patient care.For further information or evidence of the potential benefits of the anaesthesia team approach, refer to the DoH toolkit document.
Or contact the Association
INFO@ANAESTHESIAASSOCAITES.ORG
Please also see the AAA position statement regarding job adverts recruiting qualified AAs
AAA Position Statement
Association of Anaesthesia Associates
Recently it has been brought to the attention of the AAA that some job adverts for qualified Anaesthesia Associate jobs have stipulated HCPC or NMC registration as requirements for application.
It is the position of the AAA that applications for AA jobs should be open to any AAs who have completed the recognised Post Graduate Diploma in Physicians’ Assistant (Anaesthesia) studies, as this is the only nationally recognised qualification for AAs. Qualified AAs do NOT need to have previously been a registered healthcare professional or hold current HCPC or NMC registration.
Approximately one third of the AA workforce have a science graduate background and will not have previously been a healthcare professional such as a Nurse or ODP before qualifying as an AA. This will effectively prevent AAs with a science graduate background from applying for these jobs. The AAA believe this to be unfair practice and should not be a condition of application in these adverts.
May 3rd, 2020
Planning the introduction and training for Physicians’ Assistants (Anaesthesia) Considerations for your Anaesthetic Department
Please note documents and videos may refer to Physicians’ Assistant (Anaesthesia), the previous title of the profession. The information contained within them applies to Anaesthesia Associates.
A list of AAs registered with the Royal College of Anaesthetists and their Employers is available via a link on the RCoA AA page.
