The Safe Anaesthesia Liaison Group (SALG) brings together interests of a number of organisations interested in the safety of patients undergoing anaesthesia across the UK. Members of the group are nominated by the organisations that they represent.

SALG is a collaborative project between the Association of Anaesthetists, Royal College of Anaesthetists and NHS England/ NHS Improvement patient safety team. The group was formed in 2008 with the specific aim of reviewing and analysing, where possible, anaesthesia related serious incidents reported to the National Reporting and Learning System. Incidents with significant learning points are reported back to the anaesthesia community through a variety of communication methods. In addition, SALG provides regular updates on safety issues arising from incident review or from reports sent directly to SALG.

SALG provides a central reference point for enquiries from anaesthetists and other healthcare professionals regarding patient safety topics. Where specific safety issues require further detailed discussion, working parties will be formed to produce reports and tools for wider dissemination to assist in establishing action, training and education needs.

SALG administers a network of regional safety leads in anaesthesia, who are responsible for disseminating information and providing feedback from all aspects of the anaesthesia care pathway. We also have a safety network, which is used to disseminate relevant alerts and the patient safety update, a quarterly publication providing a precis of cases reported through the national reporting system for discussion at departmental governance meetings. You may join this distribution list by emailing SALG.