Abstract
In a survey of obstetric anaesthetic services in the United Kingdom questionnaires were sent to 398 hospital maternity units and 347 general-practitioner maternity units, of which 344 and 272 respectively were returned. Many hospitals were unable to provide an anaesthetist for obstetric surgery only, and few consultant anaesthetist sessions were allocated to obstetric surgery, particularly in regional hospitals in England and Wales. Constant supervision of junior anaesthetic staff with under 12 months' experience was lacking in several hospitals. Endotracheal intubation is widely used throughout the United Kingdom. Though regional analgesic techniques are used by most anaesthetists it is impossible to provide a 24-hour regional analgesic service in all but a few hospitals.