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About

The ESAIC is dedicated to supporting professionals in anaesthesiology and intensive care by serving as the hub for development and dissemination of valuable educational, scientific, research, and networking resources.


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Congresses

The ESAIC hosts the Euroanaesthesia and Focus Meeting congresses that serve as platforms for cutting-edge science and innovation in the field. These events bring together experts, foster networking, and facilitate knowledge exchange in anaesthesiology, intensive care, pain management, and perioperative medicine. Euroanaesthesia is one of the world’s largest and most influential scientific congresses for anaesthesia professionals. Held annually throughout Europe, our congress is a contemporary event geared towards education, knowledge exchange and innovation in anaesthesia, intensive care, pain and perioperative medicine, as well as a platform for immense international visibility for scientific research.


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Professional Growth

The ESAIC's mission is to foster and provide exceptional training and educational opportunities. The ESAIC ensures the provision of robust and standardised examination and certification systems to support the professional development of anaesthesiologists and to ensure outstanding future doctors in the field of anaesthesiology and intensive care.


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Research

The ESAIC aims to advance patient outcomes and contribute to the progress of anaesthesiology and intensive care evidence-based practice through research. The ESAIC Clinical Trial Network (CTN), the Academic Contract Research Organisation (A-CRO), the Research Groups and Grants all contribute to the knowledge and clinical advances in the peri-operative setting.


Learn more about the ESAIC Clinical Trial Network (CTN) and the associated studies.

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EU Projects

The ESAIC is actively involved as a consortium member in numerous EU funded projects. Together with healthcare leaders and practitioners, the ESAIC's involvement as an EU project partner is another way that it is improving patient outcomes and ensuring the best care for every patient.


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Patient Safety

The ESAIC aims to promote the professional role of anaesthesiologists and intensive care physicians and enhance perioperative patient outcomes by focusing on quality of care and patient safety strategies. The Society is committed to implementing the Helsinki Declaration and leading patient safety projects.


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Sustainability

To ESAIC is committed to implementing the Glasgow Declaration and drive initiatives towards greater environmental sustainability across anaesthesiology and intensive care in Europe.


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Partnerships

The ESAIC works in collaboration with industry, national societies, and specialist societies to promote advancements in anaesthesia and intensive care. The Industry Partnership offers visibility and engagement opportunities for industry participants with ESAIC members, facilitating understanding of specific needs in anaesthesiology and in intensive care. This partnership provides resources for education and avenues for collaborative projects enhancing science, education, and patient safety. The Specialist Societies contribute to high-quality educational opportunities for European anaesthesiologists and intensivists, fostering discussion and sharing, while the National Societies, through NASC, maintain standards, promote events and courses, and facilitate connections. All partnerships collectively drive dialogue, learning, and growth in the anaesthesiology and intensive care sector.


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Guidelines

Guidelines play a crucial role in delivering evidence-based recommendations to healthcare professionals. Within the fields of anaesthesia and intensive care, guidelines are instrumental in standardizing clinical practices and enhancing patient outcomes. For many years, the ESAIC has served as a pivotal platform for facilitating continuous advancements, improving care standards and harmonising clinical management practices across Europe.


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Publications

With over 40 years of publication history, the EJA (European Journal of Anaesthesiology) has established itself as a highly respected and influential journal in its field. It covers a wide range of topics related to anaesthesiology and intensive care medicine, including perioperative medicine, pain management, critical care, resuscitation, and patient safety.


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Membership

Becoming a member of ESAIC implies becoming a part of a vibrant community of nearly 8,000 professionals who exchange best practices and stay updated on the latest developments in anaesthesiology, intensive care and perioperative medicine. ESAIC membership equips you with the tools and resources necessary to enhance your daily professional routine, nurture your career growth, and play an active role in advancing anaesthesiology, intensive care and perioperative medicine.


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Newsletter 2023

SAFEST - Standards in Perioperative Care

Authors:
Daniel Arnal, Maria Wittmann


The SAFEST project, funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe innovation programme under grant agreement No 101057825, aims to enhance patient safety in perioperative care, a crucial aspect of healthcare. Surgical-related adverse events significantly burden healthcare systems, and SAFEST aims to address this issue through standardised and evidence-based perioperative practices. As previously reported
(1), the project involves a diverse team of healthcare professionals, patients, and stakeholders and follows a multi-stage approach. 

SAFEST Partners 

Participant organisation name and country  Participant abbreviation 
Fundación Avedis Donabedian para la mejora de la calidad asistencial (COORDINATOR) – Spain  FAD 
Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research – The Netherlands  NIVEL 
NOVA University Lisbon – Portugal  NUL 
Radboud university medical centre (IQ Healthcare and OR department) – The Netherlands  Radboudumc 
Sistema Español de Notificación en Seguridad en Anestesia y Reanimación – Spain  SENSAR 
University of Tartu – Estonia  UTARTU 
OptiMedis AG – Germany  OM 
European Hospital and Healthcare Federation – Belgium  HOPE 
European Society of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care – Belgium  ESAIC 
Spojená akreditační komise – Czech Republic  SAK 

The project’s key stages include: 

  1. Developing the SAFEST Perioperative Patient Safety Standardised Practices. 
  2. Implementing guided self-evaluations in 10 hospitals across five European countries. 
  3. Identifying priorities and action plans through a shortlisting process of existing interventions. 
  4. Establishing a Perioperative Quality Improvement Learning Collaborative (PQILC). 
  5. Evaluating and monitoring potential patient safety improvements in perioperative care. 
  6. Empowering patients throughout the project’s duration. 
  7. Envision the sustainability of the study and engagement of 100 hospitals at the European level in the follow-up of the project. 

Notable achievements within the first year of the project include: 

  1. Building a project website (https://safestsurgery.eu/) with the project description, news, and blog entries and running the project’s social media on Twitter, LinkedIn and Research Gate. 
  2. Describing a comprehensive stakeholder and communications map. 
  3. Formation of the Scientific Advisory Group (SAG) to integrate viewpoints of patients, clinicians, and healthcare professionals. 
  4. Running two Delphi surveys based on their respective systematic review of the existing evidence for Perioperative Patient Safety Standardized Practices and Patient Safety Core Outcomes 
  5. Organising the Perioperative Patient Safety Recommendations Consensus Conference, focusing on refining and reaching a consensus on patient safety perioperative standardised practices. 
  6. Hosting the Core Outcome Set (COS) Consensus Online Conference, gathering experts to determine core indicators for assessing patient safety in perioperative care. 
  7. Elaborating a set of measurable elements to assess the implementation of the SAFEST Perioperative Patient Safety Standardised Practices 
  8. Creating an online platform allows pilot hospitals to self-evaluate and monitor progress on the SAFEST study. 
  9. Conducting a face-to-face meeting with representatives from 10 participating hospitals to discuss the self-evaluation process and SAFEST Standardized Practices. 

The project emphasises patient-centred care and addresses challenges such as staff shortages, cultural barriers, and leadership commitment. Patient involvement and active participation are crucial components, ensuring that patient values and perspectives are integrated into recommendations and standards. 

Future steps include collaborating with hospitals for self-evaluation, establishing the Perioperative Quality Improvement Learning Collaborative, and collecting data to evaluate project outcomes. The SAFEST project strives to improve patient safety in perioperative care and aims to share progress, achievements, and research findings along the way. 

We look forward to sharing this journey and updating you on our progress, project achievements, and research findings!  

Follow the SAFEST Project on  Twitter and LinkedIn, or check our website for exciting blog posts, in-depth project information, and news!