Anaesthetic emergency service at three hospitals--a decade of change.

The results of a 6-week survey of anaesthetic emergency work completed in 1978 are compared with those from an earlier survey in 1967. Three hospitals sampled, an undergraduate teaching hospital, a district general hospital and a specialized paediatric hospital. At all three hospitals emergency workload increased relative to the population served, with intensive therapy accounting for much of the extra demand. The consequences for the provision of an anaesthetic service are discussed.