Specialist anaesthesia

Our anaesthetic department also caters for specialist areas, outlined below.

Obstetric anaesthesia

Our obstetric consultant anaesthetists are responsible for around 6000 deliveries per year. We have a two-bed high dependency unit and 15 delivery rooms on the labour ward, with a low risk delivery unit and high-risk induction area.

We offer all standard anaesthetic techniques and are developing our use of cell-salvage and interventional radiology to manage complications.

We also run a high-risk obstetric clinic for women with GUCHD (grown up congenital heart disease), respiratory and neurological conditions.

Cardiac anaesthesia

We have consultants providing adult cardiac anaesthesia services, and consultants who specialise in children's cardiac anaesthesia. We provide anaesthesia services for approximately 1500 operative cases per year, cardiac catheters, cardiac MRI, cardiac electrophysiology and medical cover for the cardiac intensive care unit. Transoesophageal echo is used as routine both in theatres in the intensive care unit.

Neuroanaesthesia

Our neuroanaesthetists provide anaesthesia for the whole range of elective and emergency neurosurgery and spinal surgery in adults and children. An awake biopsy, and intracranial resection service has developed, with specialist expertise from anaesthesia to enable this.

Paediatric anaesthesia

Our paediatric anaesthetists work with pre-term, neonates, and older children. We also provide a separate dedicated out of hours cover for emergencies. We have a separate pain team for children.

Orthopaedic awake surgery and regional anaesthesia

Following investment in the latest ultrasound technology we are now performing fast acting effective local anaesthesia blocks on many patients having arm and leg surgery. This is enabling us to operate on some patients who are too high risk for general anaesthesia and we can discharge patients more quickly following surgery, with good levels of pain relief. Other subspecialties are, hepatobiliary and pancreatic, upper GI and oesophageal, thoracic, opthalmic, vascular, oromaxillofacial, and trauma anaesthesia.