The anaesthetist and industrial action by ancillary workers. Reflections on the 1979 strike.

The author retired from active practice as a consultant anaesthetist in the British National Health Service during 1980 at the age of 60. He kept a detailed diary for the last full year as consultant. One of the Editors suggested that the diary could form the basis of a series of essays on various aspects of the life and practice of a consultant anaesthetist during the second half of the twentieth century, with his considered views culled from the experiences of a professional lifetime. The first essay deals with the effects of the industrial action by hospital ancillary workers in 1979 and considers the special role of the hospital anaesthetist during such disputes.