Why the study?
Does an integrated pain relief service involving obstetricians performing epidurals provide satisfactory pain relief in labour?
Does an integrated pain relief service involving obstetricians performing epidurals provide satisfactory pain relief in labour?
Junior obstetric staff can safely and effectively contribute to running an obstetric epidural service when adequate safeguards and collaboration are in place.
May support obstetrician-integrated epidural services in labour; hypothesis-generating and should not yet change practice.
Epidural injections were performed by obstetricians on 1012 patients in a pain relief service in which there was clinical co-operation between anaesthetists and obstetricians. A consultant anaesthetist collaborated in the training of staff providing the service. Midwives maintained the epidural analgesia with top-up doses as part of their traditional role in providing pain relief in labour. Eight-eight per cent of patients were fully satisfied, 10% were helped and 2% had failed epidurals. The forceps rate was 30% and the dural tap rate 1.4%. Junior obstetric staff in training grades can with adequate safeguards make a significant contribution to running an obstetric epidural service.
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Ghosh‐Ray et al. (1980) studied this question.
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