Tenth Anniversary

This year is the tenth anniversary of the founding of the Society of Anaesthetists in Radiology. The inaugural scientific meeting was held on 10th  November 2011. All the meetings have been of the highest standard and have typically included joint presentations by interventional radiologists and their anaesthetist counterparts. The Society has recently been revamped with an entirely new council and a new title – The Society of Anaesthesia and Radiology – which recognises the equal importance of this continuing partnership. These changes largely came about just prior to the onset of the pandemic a year ago.

The future is exciting with full use of webinars, social media and, of course, face-to-face meetings where permitted. Many of the topics for future discussion from the past remain on the agenda; remote locations, staffing, the role of non-anaesthetist sedationists, and the establishment of recognised Royal College training programmes for anaesthetists in interventional radiology. Importantly, there are examples  of clinical developments, such as the roll out of cerebrovascular thrombectomy, being limited by  a shortage of both interventional radiologists and anaesthetists.

Across the whole field of medicine, surgeons increasingly work together with interventional radiologists in the lab and happily anaesthetists are in a strong position to ensure a cohesive team approach. The over-arching goal  of anaesthetists is to enable the most complex and involved procedures, both old and new, to be carried out. More hybrid theatres will  be needed  but proper and timely input from all the stakeholders is essential if the expensive resources are going to be used safely and effectively. Our new Society will reach out to radiology nurses and radiographers because we cannot work without their special skills and contributions. Interventional radiology is an exciting area and we hope to spread the good news that the future is already here to medical students and trainees.

As in every other part of our lives, the Covid Pandemic will lead to permanent changes in the way we live, communicate and work. The Council is confident and looks forward to meeting the challenges ahead.

Dr Michael Boscoe

Founding President