Non-doctor anaesthesia in Nepal: developing an essential cadre.

Nepal is a mountainous country of 27 million people where the widespread lack of access to operative services is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. One critical reason for this is the lack of trained, appropriately distributed anaesthesia providers. We discuss the evolution of the 'anaesthesia assistant' in Nepal, review the international literature concerning the development of non-doctor anaesthetists, and invite links with others working in this field.