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Shortage of "Loss of Resistance" Syringes

The Royal College of Anaesthetists, Association of Anaesthetists, Obstetric Anaesthetists' Association and Regional Anaesthesia-UK have been informed of a disruption to supply of Smiths Medical Epidural and Combined Epidural/Spinal products containing the Portex®️ Loss of Resistance (LoR) syringe.
This is due to difficulty obtaining a dye required for the plastic of the loss of resistance syringe and has led to a temporary disruption in production and supply. The estimated recovery is the end of June or beginning of July 2022.
We have been informed that NHS Supply Chain (NHSSC) are now controlling supply of all epidural insertion kits. Hospitals will not be able to order directly from Smiths or from other distributors. Local procurement leads have been asked to continue to order their usual products from NHSSC; however, alternative brands and alternative kits (e.g. 18G rather than 16G) may be provided depending on supply/demand. Until this situation has stabilised, NHSSC will be providing approximately one week’s worth of stock to organisations on request. The NHS is undertaking a stocktake of current supplies in the system via local procurement teams.

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In case you missed out on the ASM....

We are pleased to announce for those members who still want to register for the online catch up, you can do this by visiting the ASM site here, and register. You will then be sent a unique username and password which will then allow you to choose to watch individual lectures/workshops, register for individual days or the entire event. Further instructions can be found here.

RA-UK ASM 2022 Catch Up

This years ASM, held jointly with ISURA in Edinburgh, was a massive success; with delegates and faculty from all around the world, a world class program, outstanding workshops and a brilliant social program. Led by Prof MacFarlane, the organising team put on a conference to remember.. Click on the image or the link above (in meetings and courses) to go to the catchup website. You can also add additional paid content like the pain symposium or virtual POCUS workshop if you missed out the first time.

NB if you've mislaid your password, use the forgotten password wizard on the link, don't email us directly as we can't reset it. Thanks. 

RA-UK Approved Fellowship Post

New webinars available for members

We have two new webinars available exclusively for members.

Firstly, from last year, "Confronting the Dark Side of regional anaesthesia", featuring talks about nerve injury, managing failed blocks and coagulation, as well as on how to monitor follow up, teaching during the pandemic and how to measure quality.

And secondly, from this year,  "Innovation in regional anaesthesia", featuring talks on new devices, new drugs, new blocks, new horizons and a cautionary tale to end it.

You can access both these videos by logging into the website, and they will appear in the webinar menu, along with other previous member only webinars. We hope you enjoy them.