The cost of safety

Summary The anaesthetic services of the United Kingdom NHS offer a high standard of safety at modest cost. Changes in anaesthetic practice will alter cost, while constraints on health care expenditure will force assessments of the benefits attributable to any increases. Conversely the possible adverse effects on safety of economies in many areas will require unceasing vigilance. Anaesthetists should maintain as far as possible control of the circumstances in which they care for patients by accepting responsibility for involvement in cost-benefit assessment.