In the wake of yesterday’s @RCoANews EGM, what are people’s views on the College forming a Faculty of AAs, as has been proposed? This, if formed, would be the third Faculty of the College, alongside Intensive Care Medicine and Pain Medicine, two (sub)specialties. 🤔 @AnaesUnited

@VirtueOfNothing @RCoANews @AnaesUnited I genuinely don't see the point of AAs. Why should we support this at all. I really think the question should be: 'should they exist'. My answer is NO. We have plenty of SAS and LEDs who are much better trained and versatile.

@EduMed_UK @RCoANews @AnaesUnited I respectfully disagree with you on this, and see a place for them in the workforce. But this needs to be with a tight scope of practice and regulation.

@VirtueOfNothing @RCoANews @AnaesUnited You may well be right. I completely concede that mine is an extreme and relatively minority view. I just have not seen what the point of AAs are, as anaesthesia is a practical speciality and everything they do is stuff my juniors need practice with

@VirtueOfNothing @RCoANews @AnaesUnited But as you said in the meeting, many countries do have them - but as far as I can see it is just a cost cutting thing. I understand why the government would be pro this, but if we are looking to maintain high quality then I don't know why as a speciality we are entertaining this

@VirtueOfNothing @RCoANews @AnaesUnited Again as I say I am the minority (and this really won't effect me, as the real reprecussions will be felt in 10 to 20 years, and new consultants with job plans involving a totally different way of working)

@EduMed_UK @RCoANews @AnaesUnited There are ways to do it well. If you limit ratios of supervision to max 2:1, and having an anaesthetic nurse (a la Scandinavian model) able to do maintenance and escalate issues can actually improve training opportunities as consultants/trainees are not ‘tied’ to one patient.

@VirtueOfNothing @RCoANews @AnaesUnited I will defer to you and colleagues who have more experience of this. Just the horrendous scope creep examples and job descriptions I have seen worry me. I think the AA culture is very different to the anaesthetic nurse culture of Scandinavia (don't know this for a fact though)

@EduMed_UK @VirtueOfNothing @RCoANews @AnaesUnited Why would the Royal College of Anethetists need to spend anesthetic members money on faculty comprised of non-anesthetists designed to replace them?

@skynetbuffering @VirtueOfNothing @RCoANews @AnaesUnited Exactly this. Why am I paying to destroy my trainees opportunities as a trainee and consultant