Fostering progress and development (in an anaesthetic department) at a time of cost containment.

The lessons learned in industry can be applied to anaesthetic departments. Progress and development are part of improving quality, and evidence is emerging that improved quality can reduce costs. Improving quality requires anaesthetic departments to develop a clear customer focus. Education, training, research and quality improvement are essential components of a quality anaesthetic department. Some of the cost reductions are achieved by development of partnerships with customers and suppliers. The emphasis is likely to shift from cost reduction to quality improvement and anaesthetic departments should anticipate this change.