Anaesthetics
What We Do
The Anaesthetic Department at Walsall Manor Hospital provides a wide range of services to ensure patient safety and comfort during surgical procedures and other medical interventions. Our highly skilled team of anaesthetists, anaesthetic nurses, and operating department practitioners (ODPs) are responsible for administering anaesthetics, monitoring patients throughout their procedure, and managing pain. We support various surgical specialties, including general surgery, orthopaedics, urology, obstetrics and gynaecology, and paediatrics. Our work involves:
- General Anaesthesia: Ensuring you are completely unconscious and feel no pain during your operation.
- Regional Anaesthesia: Numbing a specific area of your body, such as an arm or the lower half of your body, while you remain awake.
- Sedation: Making you feel relaxed and drowsy for minor procedures.
- Pain Management: Offering various pain relief options, including epidurals for labour and post-operative pain control.
- Pre-operative Assessment: Evaluating your health before surgery to plan the safest anaesthetic for you.
Where We Are Based
Our services are delivered across several key areas within Walsall Manor Hospital. The main Anaesthetic Department offices and pre-operative assessment clinics are located on the ground floor. Our teams work in the operating theatres, the maternity unit for obstetric anaesthesia, and on the wards for pain management consultations.
- Operating Theatres: We have a number of modern operating theatres where most surgical procedures take place.
- Maternity Unit: Our anaesthetists provide epidurals and spinal anaesthetics for women in labour or for caesarean sections.
- Pre-operative Assessment Unit: This is where you will attend for an appointment before your surgery to discuss your medical history and anaesthetic options.
How to Access the Service
Access to the Anaesthetic Department is primarily through referral from a surgeon or another healthcare professional. You cannot refer yourself directly.
- Pre-operative Assessment: If you are scheduled for a surgical procedure, you will be given an appointment to attend our pre-operative assessment clinic. At this appointment, you will meet with a healthcare professional to discuss your fitness for surgery and anaesthesia. This is an opportunity for you to ask any questions you may have.
- Emergency Care: For emergency cases, our anaesthetists are available 24/7 to provide immediate support in the operating theatre or emergency department.
- Maternity Services: If you are a patient on our maternity unit, an anaesthetist will be available to discuss and administer pain relief options such as an epidural, if required.