Health: Dobson warns against plan to allow nurses to stand in for anaesthetists
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The shortage of fully-trained anaesthetists could be tackled by training nurses to do the work it was suggested in an Audit Commission report yesterday.
But Frank Dobson, Secretary of State for Health, said the idea would have to be "looked at very carefully" before it could be implemented.
The report said that "non-medically trained staff" could be trained to do the job of anaesthetists under the supervision of doctors. So-called "nurse anaesthetists" already work in operating theatres in the United States and other European countries.
Mr Dobson said: "There's got to be the very basic test, we have got to make sure the patients are safe - that's got to be item one, two and three on the agenda."
Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, he said he was "broadly sympathetic" to the idea of getting the best out of everyone working in the health service, and there were certain spheres in which nurses were keen to do more and the other professions were happy for them to do so.
But he warned: "It's something that needs to be looked at very very carefully because it wouldn't be in the interests of the patients to do something stupid and it wouldn't be the interests of nurses or the other professions.
"We have got to look at things very very carefully and see who can make a bigger contribution, who can relieve this problem of the shortage of anaesthetists which has been building up for five or six years."
The Audit Commission report said the biggest challenge facing doctors was the increasing number of patients needing treatment. "The most fundamental way to reduce demands for more doctors substantially would be to adopt the anaesthesia system used in many other countries in the world, including much of Europe and the United States - that is, allowing non-medically qualified staff to maintain anaesthesia under the indirect supervision of doctors, who move between two or more operating theatres."
Pilot schemes, using nurses to operate anaesthesia, should be introduced, the report said.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments