I was interested to read the above article. When I commenced in anaesthesia I remember one of the guidelines for day case anaesthesia often cited was that the surgeon and anaesthetist should both be consultants. In recent years this assertion has been quietly withdrawn and the latest AAGBI day case guidelines say that day case surgery should be a 'consultant lead' service. With pressure on throughput and less people on the ground due to changing working patterns it is easy to be forgiven for thinking that the day case list is an easy one to staff with a junior anaesthetist when the pressure is on. Perhaps in the light of this study we should reevaluate this thought process and go back to what used to be regarded as best practice.

Chris Coldwell