The ITLS course is targeted at ordinary anaesthetists with only rudimentary Information and Communication Technology (ICT) knowledge and skills. The ITLS course aims to provide an introduction to healthcare informatics and coupled with the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) should be considered as evidence of a basic competency in Information Technology as described in Appendix I of the publication “Royal College of Anaesthetists’ CCT in Anaesthesia I: General Principles”.
The Royal College of Anaesthetists has stated that consultant anaesthetists should have a full and integral role in running the NHS and that it is no longer acceptable to be only clinically competent. Consultants must possess advanced skills in other non-clinical subjects and these skills are not innate and need to be taught. These skills were identified in the document “Royal College of Anaesthetists’ CCST in Anaesthesia IV: Competency based training and assessment manual for specialist registrar years 3, 4 and 5” within the section entitled ‘Development of professional knowledge, skills and attitudes’ and are listed as follows:
13: General Principles and Training Objectives
14: The Responsibilities of Professional Life
15: Teaching and Medical Education
16: Healthcare Management
17: Independent Practice
18: Information Technology
19: Medical Ethics and Law
Section 18: ‘Information Technology’ within this manual was written by Dr Chris Barham, a prominent figure within the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCA), Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland (AAGBI) and the Society for Computing and Technology in Anaesthesia (SCATA). A subsequent revision to the CCT in Anaesthesia documentation moved this section to Appendix I of the publication ‘Royal College of Anaesthetists’ CCT in Anaesthesia I: General Principles although the content remains largely unchanged.
At the Society for Computing and Technology in Anaesthesia (SCATA) Spring Conference in Derby on 6th May 2004, Dr James Berrington was invited to provide a trainees’ perspective of the Information Technology (IT) competencies and presented his lecture ‘Delivering the RCA’s IT Competency Training’. Dr Roger Tackley and the Royal College of Anaesthetists had already prepared a course entitled ‘Essential Informatics’ but there had been difficulties attracting trainees. The SCATA committee decided to address all of these issues as part of an ‘Education Initiative’ and the Information Technology Life Support (ITLS) course was realised. The first course was successfully held in Halifax on 16th November 2005 and courses have been held regularly throughout the UK since.
