Obstetric anaesthetic services in the Yorkshire region

A survey of obstetric anaesthetic services in the Yorkshire region, where about 44,500 deliveries take place annually, showed that inadequacies exist in the service to patients. A 24 hour epidural service is available in only nine of 19 consultant units, and in about seven units patients may have to wait up to half an hour for an anaesthetist to be available for an obstetric emergency. Additional consultant anaesthetic sessions are urgently required as well as centralisation of some units.