Project Details
About the Project
Having successfully launched the block room at Royal Jubilee Hospital, Dr. Gus Chan and his colleagues thought the time was right to consider other procedures that might be appropriate for regional anaesthetic. Thanks to Facility Engagement funding, the Regional Anaesthesiologists had the chance to come together to refine existing protocols for total joint arthroplasty, develop new pathways for subcutaneous ICD placement, and plan new regimens for minimally invasive mitral valve repairs.
Traditionally, “anaesthetists don’t work with other anesthetists – we’re always on our own when working.” Thanks to the block room, anesthetists now have the chance to work together: One in the block room, and another in the operating room. Determining how to collaborate on cases was an important change that the Regional Anesthesiologists needed to work through together – and which they did, thanks to Facility Engagement funding. As shared by Dr. Chan, “it’s been important to take the time to figure out what that looks like and how to communicate.”
Standardization of block procedures has also been a notable outcome of this work. According to Dr. Chan, “before we created this subspecialty group, we did blocks here and there, but it wasn’t in any standardized way.” Now, everyone on the team is on the same page. Standardization has also enabled them to expand their service outside of the four walls of the block room. As an example, “we’ve had people go to the Electrophysiology Lab to provide nerve blocks for subcutaneous ICD implants.”
If the improvements in patient care and population health at a lower cost wasn’t enough, the block room work has also improved the provider experience. According to Dr. Chan, “it’s fun, interesting, challenging work, and is a nice change from our usual day-to-day general anaesthesia work. It’s increased our job satisfaction, which has also helped to make the program successful.” While it can be challenging to prioritize which new pathways the group takes on, “our small group is interested and willing to do new things.”
As the RJH Regional Anaesthesia group continues to evolve and grow, they look forward to exploring different ways in which regional blocks can be used. They’ll continue to engage with their surgical colleagues (“they have a different perspective, which is important to include in our discussions and decisions”), as well as with each other.
Many thanks to Drs. Gus Chan, Jacques Smit, Jo Bleakley, Garrett Barry, Andrew Tyrell, Ryan Truant, Adrian Vethanayagam, Pooya Kazemi, and Mark German for their ongoing efforts to optimize the RJH Block Room services!