The standards formulation process

The International Task Force on Anaesthesia Safety was formed in 1989 to institute a new international effort to improve anaesthesia safety worldwide. Membership was by invitation to individuals with strong credentials in the anaesthesia safety movement in their own countries. Two and a half years of debate yielded a comprehensive standards document that covered not only monitoring and equipment issues, but also key issues relating to the professional standing of anaesthetists. A keen awareness of the limited nature of anaesthesia resources in many parts of the world, and a desire to make these international standards useful to all, led to the international standards document incorporating several levels of desirability; an appendix covering several levels of equipment acquisition was also included. Consultation from a variety of individuals and groups not represented on the Task Force was actively sought. In June 1992, the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists adopted the Task Force's international standards document and commended it to its 98 member societies worldwide.