Stop press: sterile gowns are no longer mandatory for spinal anaesthesia. I’m so proud to have been part of this process trying to simplify our practice, making us efficient, more sustainable without increasing risk associationofanaesthetists-publications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Good morning from Portugal’s doctors updates conference (as featured in some national publications). Expect some geeky anaesthesia tweets but let’s start with the morning beach run. Only 2km to get my feet used to barefoot sand running.

The sunset has nearly reached its autumn/winter position. Happy weekend everyone

Good morning everyone. I’m at the #BGSconf this morning talking about delirium. Caught @cswarbrick1’s excellent talk on the impact of delirium and the results of Snap3. Delirium increases length of stay, mortality and all complications.

The latest episode of #AnaesthesiaOnAir features @doctorhelgi.bsky.social in conversation with retired anaesthetist Dr Maginness about the Omagh bomb. Dr Maginness was an Omagh local and part of the medical response team. Recorded at #Anaesthesia2025 in Belfast.  🎧 ow.ly/eFbz50WGczQ #medsky

🏆ARTICLE OF THE MONTH: The other side of the barrier by @doctorhelgi.bsky.social How subtle cues, teamwork & understanding between anaesthetists & surgeons improve patient safety. 👉 www.bjsacademy.com/bjs-academy/... #PatientSafety #Anaesthesia #Surgery #medsky #surgsky

The other side of the barrier @doctorhelgi.bsky.social How subtle cues, teamwork & understanding between anaesthetists & surgeons improve patient safety. 👉 www.bjsacademy.com/bjs-academy/... #PatientSafety #Anaesthesia #Surgery #medsky #surgsky

Thinking that end of September is a great time to go to a conference in the south of Portugal? Look no further… (And yes this is the one where my “floral shirt” got featured in the Mail). www.doctorsupdates.com/da-balaia

Thank you to parliament for allowing the assisted dying bill to progress. It’s my life, I want the choice to be mine. www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cg...

Thunder and lightning, very very frightening…

Turns out targeting a particular blood pressure while under anaesthesia doesn’t make much difference, and the permissive group actually had less atrial fibrillation. #rcoaupdates

The @RCoANews ‘s college tutor meeting in full flow. Our new vice president elect @drmumsjt introduces some of the new guidance for training progression. More flexibility, better appreciation of training obtained in “locally employed” posts. Faster progression through training

Interesting development. I think this will prevent confusion and make it clearer to our patients who is treating them. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Hello everyone, Reporting from #ea25 in Lisbon. It makes sense that pre-op physical training reduces post-op complications, did you know that brain training does too? #prehabilitation

The anaesthetic national audit projects are some of the most powerful in the UK. We have a sneak peek at #SNAP3, looking at our older surgical patients, their frailty and any delirium experienced. #Anaesthesia2025

At #Anaesthesia2025 we are discussing the case of Oliver McGowan and communicating with people with learning disabilities. Many of us will have done the e-learning on his case (which I found very powerful).

Good morning everyone and welcome to #Anaesthesia2025 day 3. We start with Gail Van Norman talking on conscientious objection. What happens if a colleague will not transfuse blood for religious reasons?

Goes for anaesthetists too. Esp when doing trickier stuff, like fiberoptic intubation or bronchoscopic check of double lumen tube position: get the feng sui right!

Good morning and welcome to day 2 of #Anaesthesia2025. Starting with @GJvanVelze on high performance teams. Clear processes, safe environment, stretch the team, but not so far to cause burnout.

Simple things make a difference to efficiency and safety. If a laparoscopic monitor is positioned badly the error rate and response time goes up. Get the feng sui right. #Anaesthesia2025

Direct quote from a surgeon: “Tell my colleagues to stop spending money on robots and spend it instead on something that makes a difference”. Team training, education, system improvement. #Anaesthesia2025

Did you know that mechanical thrombectomy for stroke is 7 times more effective than thrombolysis for MI? It saves lives, reduces disability. Much of the UK still doesn’t have 24hrs access to thrombectomy and only 4% of stroke patients get one. #anaesthesia2025

Summary of our paed regional talk: Kids are very sensitive to opioids so regional anaesthesia is ideal. Use the ultrasound Be careful about maximum doses. #anaesthesia2025

First up is @anilhormis on nociception monitoring. Getting the pain relief right is one of the bigger challenges in anaesthesia. Too little and your patient wakes up in agony, too much and they take ages to wake, remain drowsy and vomit more. #anaesthesia2025

Good morning from Belfast. We kick off #anaesthesia2025 this morning so expect geeky work related posts, although in honour of Eurovision I did have an Espresso Macchiato this morning.

Hello Belfast! Here for three days for #anaesthesia2025 Expect some educational nuggets and some general banter. The dry spring has made the fields look like the south of England in August!

Last evening back home in Reykjavik and the harbour provided a little light display.

Today we repaired 14 hernias. Started on time, finished on time. Even stopped briefly for lunch. One operating theatre, no expensive technology. Last list for a while as all extra sessions to reduce waiting lists have been stopped for now due to lack of money. #nhs #waitinglists

Gosh! 😮

Decent sunset this evening too…

In #LGBTplusHM25... It's a good time to re-read Dr Helgi Johannsson's blog on his personal history, the history of healthcare & where we are now. "We must make our patient pathways welcoming towards those who identify as LGBTQ+." #LGBTHM25 @doctorhelgi.bsky.social ow.ly/XiLU50V021h

Venus bright in the evening sky, and the other planets coming out as well. (Rubbish photo though so not published). Happy Friday everyone.

Despite generally being a tourist trap, after not seeing the sun for some weeks, Gran Canaria is currently providing me with everything I need.

Isn’t tower bridge pretty? Forgot to post this photo taken from London Bridge on Monday morning.

Finally watched Wicked this evening. A lot of fun and reminded me of one of my patients a couple of years ago who as a massive musical theatre fan sang Defying Gravity (very well) at the top of her voice while being anaesthetised.

Important information on GLP agonists (#Ozempic etc) and surgery. Slowing of stomach action may mean there is still food in the stomach six hours after a meal. Glad to see there are still very few reports of aspiration. Stopping the drug probably not the answer either. www.gov.uk/drug-safety-...

What does an anaesthetist order at Starbucks? … … A Venti-Latte (Thank you to @sarahowen.org.uk for this one…)

For some reason I’m in this photo playing the clarinet badly…

Cold day on the allotment today, brought my camera with me and “pottered” (read didn’t achieve much but poked this and looked at that…) Back tomorrow too.

Replenished the bird feeders today and the blue tit loved it.

Good sunrise this morning in St Leonard’s.

Beautiful evening in central London last night. Happy (belated) new year everyone.

Morning run done - time to follow Nigella and brine the turkey.

London, you were looking so pretty this morning. (My finger ends and ears were numb, but hey….)

Thank you everyone! Very glad to stay on RCOA council!

Full old man vibes today sheltering from the rain in the rickety greenhouse on my allotment. Not much work got done.

To any Aye-voting MP who might read this: I want to thank you for voting Aye this afternoon. As a doctor I’ve seen so many truly awful deaths that I would never ever want, this gives our patients (and all of us eventually) some autonomy over what happens to us.

To any Aye-voting MP who might read this: I want to thank you for voting Aye this afternoon. As a doctor I’ve seen so many truly awful deaths that I would never ever want, this gives our patients (and all of us eventually) some autonomy over what happens to us. Helgi

Great news on assisted dying. Now to the committee stage and then to design a service with all the safeguards necessary that allows our patients autonomy over their death.

Ahead of tomorrow’s parliamentary debate on assisted dying here is my plea to MPs that it’s time to change the law. It’s not too fast, it’s not the thin end of the wedge. It allows people at the end of their lives some autonomy. www.drhelgi.com/blog/assiste...