Healthcare in the UK has experienced intense change over the past few years, much of which has been focused on the perioperative environment. The NHS Plan, introduced by the Labour government in 2000, was at the forefront of the modernisation of the UK's National Health Service. Focusing on major areas of concern, such as modernisation of the workforce, increasing patient choice, and increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of patient care, the government strategy to rebuild the NHS has affected every segment of the care sector.

Perioperative practitioners have responded to these pressures by re-examining professional boundaries and roles within perioperative care. As practice has advanced to meet these new challenges, new roles have developed, including for example, the surgical care practitioner, anaesthesia practitioner, and non-medical prescribing practitioners. These roles have the potential to increase the quality of patient care, as well as offering an opportunity for perioperative practitioners to extend their skills, knowledge, and competencies.

The intention is to provide a series of books exploring all aspects of core practice in perioperative care. This book, the first of the series, focuses on developments in anaesthetic practice.

For many anaesthetic practitioners the thought of further professional development can be daunting. The increasingly specialist area of anaesthetic practice has been mirrored by an increasing need for specialist knowledge. Consider, for example, the differing needs of a patient undergoing major vascular surgery, an elderly patient requiring hip arthroplasty and a young mother undergoing caesarean section under spinal anaesthesia.