Anaesthetists consume 3% of trust expenditure but affect 60% of trust income

EDITOR —align=baseline border=0>The letters on the Audit Commission's report Anaesthesia under Examination1 from those working in anaesthesia have been predictable, varying from those from apoplectic sceptics2 to the welcoming. 3 4 Having read these and attended the Audit Commission's day in London, we think that the letters are misinformed and based on an incorrect premise.

Firstly, the Audit Commission's report must be considered in context. It was commissioned in 1996 by the chief executives of …