A new survey from the Royal College of Anaesthetists calls for investment in modern digital system to boost productivity.

Anaesthetists are working with slow computers and outdated IT systems, hampering their productivity, a survey outlining issues members of the profession face has found.

Meanwhile, more than half of clinical leaders say their hospitals still rely on paper patient records some of the time, while pension taxation continues to pose a problem, a new report from the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA) outlines.

RCoA argues that anaesthetists play a key role in perioperative care, all the care that patients receive during and after their operation, which is vital to improving outcomes and productivity.

But they face barriers which are limiting their ability to do more, data from the College’s 2025 workforce census shows.

One-in-four consultants and SAS anaesthetists reduced their working hours because of pension taxation, which the college says results in up to 1.5 million hours of lost clinical time each year – capacity that could allow up to 460,000 additional patients to be treated.

Following years of campaigning, in 2023, changes to pension taxation rules were announced, which then chancellor Jeremy Hunt said would prevent more than 80% of NHS doctors from incurring such a charge.

However, results from the survey suggest the problem has not been solved.

IT equipment was also cited as a dampener on productivity, with 58% rating computer loading speed as “poor” or “very poor” and 44$ finding it difficult to access patient information quickly and easily.

“Anaesthetists are losing valuable clinical time because outdated IT systems slow everyday work, while pension taxation is driving many senior doctors to reduce their hours, or consider leaving the NHS,” said RCoA president Claire Shannon.

“Investing in modern digital systems, reforming the pension taxation system, and strengthening perioperative care would allow anaesthetic teams to work more efficiently; retain experienced staff, help cut waiting lists and improve patient outcomes,” she added.