Paediatric anaesthesia in a district general hospital

Over 4000 general anaesthetics were administered during 1987 to children under the age of 13 years in the Norwich Health District. We have reviewed the 2938 anaesthetics performed in the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital. Five hundred and fifty-eight (19%) were undertaken in children aged less than 3 years; 24 of these were neonates. The implications of this workload are discussed, with reference to the more appropriate use of consultants with previous paediatric anaesthetic training, the training of junior staff and the policy for transfer of patients to specialised centres.