RA-UK ASM - Coronovirus Update
RA-UK are very sorry to have to announce the cancellation of our 2-day Annual Scientific meeting scheduled for 18-19th May 2020 in Sheffield.
We have been following the global developments surrounding COVID-19 very closely and we are all agreed that the safety of our delegates, faculty, and the community as a whole must take priority. We were due to have a large attendance with faculty and delegates from all over the UK and the rest of the world. Such a public gathering of front-line staff who are likely to be called upon to deal with patients with COVID-19 was too great a risk to take.
We assure you that this is not a decision we have taken lightly. This was set to be the most successful RA-UK meeting yet because of your support and enthusiasm for Regional Anaesthesia and POCUS education. RA-UK are very sorry for the inconvenience that this will undoubtedly have caused.
All delegates, faculty and industry sponsors have been informed.
Delegates will be refunded their registration over the coming weeks. For international refunds there may be a small administrative charge.
Once we have successfully dealt with whatever the next few months bring us, we will launch our 2021 meeting (#RAUK21) which is already being planned and the dates are 29th April – 1st May 2021. We look forward to welcoming you and seeing you then.
Once again, please accept our sincere apologies and we thank you for your support and understanding
I would also like to personally extend my thanks to: Dr Tim Moll and Dr Kim Russon, along with the rest of the Sheffield Local organising team, our event management company EMD, and all of our faculty for the hard work they dedicated to designing and preparing for this meeting.
With my very best wishes,
Dr Amit Pawa
Plan A Blocks

We are pleased to announce a new section of the website entitled Plan A blocks.
A recent editorial by Turbitt et al in Anaesthesia highlighted the inconsistencies in education and training of anaesthetists to perform basic level regional blocks, and hypothesised that the explosion of new techniques facilitated by ultrasound had compounded the problem by intimidating the normal practitioner. They drafted a list of seven Plan A blocks that cover the key areas of surgery/acute pain, and suggested that every anaesthetist should be proficient in these, leaving the expert RA practitioner to help provide blocks for more complex circumstances. The text of the editorial is provided.
At RA-UK we believe in the widespread adoption of regional anaesthetic techniques for all, and it is our mission to improve patient care by promoting excellence in RA practice and education.
We endorse the 7 Plan A blocks suggested, and have made available a new educational resource based on our popular
Pocket Guide to Regional Anaesthesia - Second Edition. We will continue to update this section should new evidence arise to suggest other blocks fit the brief of “highest possible value to the greatest number of patients”. We hope that this can be used to teach and train the next generation of anaesthetists so that no-one comes out of training with an inability to provide this standard.
Regional experts will, of course, continue to provide the wide range of blocks as they see fit, and continue to research and push the boundaries of analgesia, and we fully support that endeavour.
You will find in this section on the right, detailed descriptions of each block taken from our pocket guide, which you will recieve for
joining RA-UK. You can also download high resolution posters for printing, and watch our recent webinar on the Plan A blocks.