Module 1 – Anaesthesia

Supporting your team’s compliance, confidence, and clinical standards

Anaesthesia forms one of the most detailed and important areas of the RCVS Practice Standards Scheme (PSS).It’s a key focus for patient safety, team training, and inspection evidence making it a strong foundation for demonstrating clinical governance within your practice.

Understanding PSS Achievement Levels

Before exploring Module 1 in depth, it’s important to recognise that the PSS operates across three levels of achievement each building upon the last to encourage continual improvement:

Core Standards

The foundation of the PSS and required for all RCVS-accredited practices.Core Standards focus on meeting essential legal, safety, and ethical requirements, ensuring your practice operates safely and responsibly.

Key expectations:

• Anaesthetic monitoring by trained personnel

• Professional servicing of anaesthetic equipment

• Proper scavenging and monitoring of waste gases

• Annual anaesthetic gas exposure checks

• Individual anaesthetic records for every patient

Supporting documents:

• Training records

• Anaesthetic charts and checklists

• Equipment service certificates

• Gas monitoring results

General Practice Standards

Building on Core, the General Practice level recognises teams delivering structured anaesthetic systems and consistent patient safety measures.

Key expectations:

• Appropriate circuits and equipment for all species treated

• Daily equipment checks and resuscitation kit logs

• SOPs for anaesthetic emergencies and pollutant reduction

• Completed anaesthetic records for all patients

Supporting documents:

• Daily equipment check logs

• Emergency drug charts and resuscitation box log

• SOPs for emergencies and pollutant control

• Completed anaesthetic charts

Veterinary Hospital Standards

The highest accreditation level representing advanced facilities, 24-hour care, and continuous anaesthetic monitoring.

Key expectations:

• A dedicated staff member monitors anaesthetised patients until full recovery, including out-of-hours

• Multi-parameter monitoring (ECG, capnography, temperature, BP, pulse oximetry)

• Range of induction and maintenance agents

• Archived anaesthetic records and structured patient handovers

Supporting documents:

• Anaesthetic and handover records

• Service and calibration certificates

• Monitoring device SOPs

Award Points

Practices can also gain additional recognition under the PSS Award system for Outstanding or Good achievement in anaesthesia.

Examples include:

• Recent CPD or postgraduate qualifications in anaesthesia

• Demonstrated team learning and skill dissemination

• Local anaesthetic techniques and advanced patient monitoring

• Regular clinical audits and cleaning SOPs

Evidence required:

• CPD certificates

• Audit reports

• SOPs for cleaning and risk assessment

• Anaesthetic and training records

Building Anaesthesia Standards Into Everyday Practice

Once the core framework is in place, compliance becomes about maintaining consistency and team awareness.Embedding anaesthesia standards into your daily workflow ensures your team can evidence compliance naturally during RCVS inspections.

Practical tips:

• Review and update anaesthetic protocols quarterly

• Assign an Anaesthesia Lead to oversee equipment, audits, and training

• Keep anaesthetic charts and checklists filed within patient records

• Conduct short internal audits to monitor adherence and outcomes

This approach not only strengthens your inspection evidence but also supports patient safety, staff confidence, and continuous learning.

Digital Tools to Support Compliance

To make PSS Module 1 implementation more manageable, our digital anaesthesia toolkit provides ready-to-use resources aligned with RCVS requirements:

• Anaesthetic Checklists — based on AVA guidance to support consistent pre- and post-anaesthetic safety checks

• Training Record Templates — evidence of competency for veterinary nurses and student nurses

• Charcoal Fluorosorber Weighing Charts — to monitor usage and replace absorbers in line with scavenging compliance

• SOP Templates — covering emergency procedures, anaesthetic pollutant reduction, and equipment maintenance

Each tool is designed to help you demonstrate compliance across Core, General Practice, and Hospital levels while reducing administrative workload.

Next Steps

Whether your practice is aiming to maintain Core Standards, progress to General Practice, or reach Hospital accreditation, structured documentation and team awareness are key.

Explore our PSS Module 1 Anaesthesia Resources to help your team stay confident, compliant, and inspection-ready.

Follow the PSS Support Series every Friday for guidance on each module helping your practice strengthen systems and celebrate success.