Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) celebrated the 170th anniversary of World Anaesthesia Day with a two-day conference bringing together local and international experts to discuss practices that can improve perioperative care, safety and quality in the practice of anaesthesia.

The event was jointly organised by HMC’s Department of Anaesthesiology, Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and Perioperative Medicine and the Department of Cardiothoracic Anaesthesia and CT-ICU at Heart Hospital to commemorate the first successful demonstration of ether anaesthesia.

“We recognise this day because the first demonstration of ether anaesthesia is considered one of the most significant events in history,” said Prof Abraham E Marcus, chair, Department of Anaesthesiology, ICU and Perioperative Medicine and patron of the Organising Committee.

Today, more than 50,000 patients receive anaesthesia services at HMC every year. It is proven to be very safe and studies have shown a dramatic reduction in the anaesthesia mortality rate. Perioperative mortality associated with anaesthesia and surgery has markedly decreased from 1 in 1,500 in the 1950s to 1 in 250,000 today, despite more complex surgical procedures now being performed.

“Anaesthesia is deservingly referred to as the lifeline of modern medicine.Without advancement in this specialty, major surgical operations such as open heart surgeries, neurosurgeries and many other complex surgeries would not be possible,” said Prof Marcus.

To discuss the practice of anaesthesiology in Qatar, more than 300 attendees comprising anaesthetists, surgeons, nurses, technicians and intensive care unit staff took part in a series of scientific sessions organised to mark the day.

The conference covered important topics ranging on facets of anaesthesia and its allied sub-specialties with a focus on quality, safety and outcomes.

The event featured leading international specialists in the field including Prof Harmut Burkle, director of the Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, University Hospital, Freiburg, Germany; Dr. David Whitaker, consultant in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care at the Manchester Royal Infirmary, UK; and David McDonald, Scottish Government Health Directorate, Glasgow, Scotland.