Perioperative nursing is constantly evolving in response to the pressures created by rapid technological development, changing social needs, financial constraints in the NHS, and the drive to improve patient care. Written by experts in the field, this book is designed to help perioperative practitioners meet all these challenges.The authors begin by briefly outlining the history of perioperative practice. They then describe perioperative practice and the inter-professional team, with particular emphasis on the role of the anaesthetic nurse specialist in the context of the Martin Peri-anaesthesia Management of Patient Care Framework. Within this framework, the Cousley Model provides a pathway through the perioperative care journey (including preassessment, preoperative, anaesthetic, intraoperative, post-anaesthetic recovery and discharge to ward), giving practitioners a practical tool that can be moulded to suit the specialty that they are practising in. Numerous examples of care plan documentation, allowing for thorough recording of patient-centred information, are provided at the end of the book.Each chapter is a topic in its own right and contains a 'thought', an 'outline of content', 'keywords' and 'reflections'. There are also 'activities', designed to encourage the reader to think about how particular principles could be adopted in their own area of practice. This invaluable book defines a new standard of care for patients undergoing anaesthesia and surgery, reflecting the complex teamwork involved in perioperative practice, while remaining eminently flexible to meet the demands of today's healthcare service.
