Should patients be anaesthetised in a dedicated anaesthetic room? A survey of attitude of anaesthetists and patients in a district general hospital

Ninety four percent of hospitals in the United Kingdom (UK) have anaesthetic rooms. However, they do not exist in hospitals in most Scandinavian countries, North America and Australia. Lately, the usefulness of the anaesthetic room has aroused debates among UK anaesthetists prompting several studies and publications. A survey of anaesthetists' attitudes to the use of an anaesthetic room in a district general hospital in the UK showed that 84% of them used the anaesthetic room for induction of anaesthesia for elective cases. Almost half the number would use the anaesthetic room for anaesthetic induction of high risk patients. This survey also showed sixty percent of patients preferred their induction of anaesthesia take place in the anaesthetic room. Previous anaesthetic experience did not influence this choice. Although anaesthetic rooms have been in use in the UK for decades, a robust argument for their continuous use is largely lacking from the literature. Issues relating to patient safety, medico legal liabilities and economic sense may lead to their disappearance in future. Adequate pre-operative preparation and education of the surgical patients may alter their preferential site for induction of anaesthesia.