The measurement of adult blood pressure and management of hypertension before elective surgery: Joint Guidelines from the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland and the British Hypertension Society

This guideline aims to ensure that patients admitted to hospital for elective surgery are known to have blood pressures below 160 mmHg systolic and 100 mmHg diastolic in primary care. The objective for primary care is to fulfil this criterion before referral to secondary care for elective surgery. The objective for secondary care is to avoid spurious hypertensive measurements. Secondary care should not attempt to diagnose hypertension in patients who are normotensive in primary care. Patients who present to pre-operative assessment clinics without documented primary care blood pressures should proceed to elective surgery if clinic blood pressures are below 180 mmHg systolic and 110 mmHg diastolic.

Checking anaesthetic equipment 2012: association of anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland

A pre-use check to ensure the correct functioning of anaesthetic equipment is essential to patient safety. The anaesthetist has a primary responsibility to understand the function of the anaesthetic equipment and to check it before use. Anaesthetists must not use equipment unless they have been trained to use it and are competent to do so. A self-inflating bag must be immediately available in any location where anaesthesia may be given. A two-bag test should be performed after the breathing system, vaporisers and ventilator have been checked individually. A record should be kept with the anaesthetic machine that these checks have been done. The 'first user' check after servicing is especially important and must be recorded.