WFSA Board member Dr Pedro Ibarra highlights the need to engage and invest in anaesthesia to realise the strategy to improve emergency, critical and operative care services.
WFSA NSA Statement Agenda item: 4.8 Strategy on Integrated Emergency, Critical and Operative Care 2025–2030 (Resolution CE174.R6 [2024])
The World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists (WFSA) welcomes the resolution endorsing Strategy on Integrated Emergency, Critical, and Operative Care 2025–2030 as a vital step towards strengthening health systems and improving patient outcomes across the Americas.
As physicians who care for patients along the full length of their treatment pathway anaesthesiologists play an indispensable role in managing perioperative, emergency, and critical care. Their leadership and clinical skills are crucial components of the integrated care envisioned by the IECO strategy.
Simply put, without strong and effective anaesthesia services the ambitions of this strategy will not be realised.
For the strategy to be effective, WFSA urges PAHO Member States to:
- Prioritize the training and recruitment of anaesthesiologists: Ensuring that every healthcare facility has access to physician anaesthesia providers is critical. This involves not only increasing training capacity but also investing in continuing education and professional development programmes to keep pace with evolving healthcare needs
- Embed anaesthesia into National Health Planning: Anaesthesia services must be fully integrated into national health policies, planning, and budgeting. This ensures that the necessary resources—personnel, equipment, and infrastructure—are allocated to support safe anaesthesia and surgical care.
- Include anaesthesiologists in the design and leadership of emergency and critical and operative care systems: Anaesthesiologists should play a leading role in shaping clinical guidelines, protocols, and health policies related to the strategy. National anaesthesiology societies can be key partners in these efforts, providing expertise and guidance to strengthen care deliv.ery
By investing in and strengthening anaesthesia services, member states will be better positioned to implement the PAHO strategy successfully, ensuring safe, effective, and integrated care for all patients. The WFSA and its national Member Societies look forward to working with PAHO and its member states to support these critical efforts.