Key result
A historical review of anaesthetic equipment evaluation in the United Kingdom highlights the erosion of government evaluation schemes and the need for evidence-based purchasing guidance.
This historical review highlights the decline in government-led evaluation of anaesthetic equipment in the UK and the resulting need for professional societies to issue evidence-based selection guidance.
Supports society-led equipment guidance amid eroding official schemes; leaves open optimal evaluation frameworks.
Recent guidance published by the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland encourages the purchase of equipment based on evidence of safety and performance. For many years, evidence of the safety and performance of anaesthetic equipment was published by various government departments and agencies. However, these schemes were gradually eroded over time such that many devices entered the market with little or no clinical evidence of their efficacy. This recently led to the Difficult Airway Society's issuing guidance to its members on how best to select new airway devices; guidance that was based on the available evidence. This article provides a short history of the evaluation of anaesthetic equipment in the United Kingdom.
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Wilkes et al. (2011) reported a review. Anaesthetic equipment evaluation was evaluated. A historical review of anaesthetic equipment evaluation in the United Kingdom highlights the erosion of government evaluation schemes and the need for evidence-based purchasing guidance.
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