The anaesthetist and the day‐surgery unit
The author retired from active practice as a consultant anaesthetist in the British National Health Service during 1980 at the age of 60. He kept a detailed diary for his last full year as a consultant. One of the Editors suggested that the diary, augmented by his considered views culled from the experiences of a professional lifetime, could form the basis of a series of essays on various aspects of the life and practice of a consultant anaesthetist during the second half of the twentieth century. This essay considers the role of the anaesthetist in providing safe anaesthesia, suitable conditions, and speedy recovery in the currently rapidly expanding field of day‐case surgery. Copyright © 1982, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved