A Paisley hospital has become the first in the UK to join a global network aimed at reducing anaesthesia risks.
The Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley has joined the Safe Brain Initiative (SBI), which is endorsed by the European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care (ESAIC).
The SBI focuses on reducing delirium, confusion, and cognitive decline in patients by tailoring their care and encourages medical professionals to monitor the impact of anaesthesia on patients in the hours, days, and weeks after surgery.
The initiative also considers factors such as fasting times before procedures, and the patient's hydration and temperature before heading to the operating theatre.
Leading experts in delirium, Professor Finn Radtke from Denmark and Katrina Jakobson from Germany, delivered a masterclass at the Royal Alexandra Hospital to anaesthetists from around Scotland and the UK recently.
They explained the SBI concept and how it can be incorporated into hospitals and departments.
Medical professionals from Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Tayside, Highland, Lanarkshire, and Ayrshire attended the two-day masterclass, and 30 delegates from across the UK attended a bootcamp on the use of processed EEG in anaesthetic monitoring.
The bootcamp was supported by Medtronic, Narcotrend, and Fresenius Kabi, and was attended by world experts Professor Matthias Kreuzer from Germany and Dr Mark Barley from Nottingham.
The aim of the events was to equip anaesthetists with the knowledge and tools to deliver precision anaesthesia, reduce delirium and cognitive decline, shorten hospital stays, and improve patients’ experience.
The SBI is established in 12 centres around Europe and the Middle East.
It provides a structure and platform for assessing and recording Patient Related Outcome Measures in anaesthesia, including rates of delirium, pain, nausea and vomiting, thirst, throat discomfort, and overall satisfaction.
Consultant anaesthetist Paul McConnell, who is based at the Royal Alexandra Hospital and is a former chair of ESAIC’s Scientific Ethics Committee, has led the SBI work at the hospital.
He said: "This event was the first of its kind in Scotland and the UK, and we are so pleased that the RAH has been the pilot site for the SBI here.
"We now have more than 750 patients on our database and through the initiation of the tenants of SBI, we have managed to decrease our delirium rate from 32 per cent when we started to 23 per cent in the latest quarter.
"We are now looking to build on this success by refining our bundles of care and follow-up to continue this improvement, enhance patient experience and contribute to international research on the understanding and prevention of postoperative delirium.
"It's a testament to the hard work of all my colleagues and in particular the RAH anaesthetic and recovery nursing staff that we've been able to achieve this.
"Previously, there has been a focus on measuring mortality and major complications, but we know there are many more things that are important parts of the patient experience and outcome.
"SBI brings these back to the fore, particularly when they can have long-term impacts."
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