Improving anaesthetic care for surgeries and procedures

We’re an approved quality assurance committee under the Queensland Hospital and Health Boards Act 2011.

We work to improve the safety and quality of care during procedures involving anaesthesia in Queensland. We do this by reviewing clinical data and recommending standards for healthcare providers.

We report to the Director-General, Queensland Health and the Patient Safety Quality Improvement Service Executive Committee.

Our role includes:

  • collecting and reviewing clinical data about deaths linked to perioperative and periprocedural anaesthesia to find statewide trends
  • making recommendations to the Director-General on standards and quality indicators to improve care
  • helping public and private health services to adopt these standards.

We work with the Statewide Anaesthesia and Perioperative Care Clinical Network (SWAPNet), other related networks and organisations and the Coroner's Court of Queensland.

Anaesthetic deaths

This process applies to all patients who die within 30 days of having a procedure involving anaesthesia or sedation using anaesthetic drugs.

Reporting and reviewing anaesthetic deaths

Health professionals report anaesthetic deaths online through the anaesthetic death register.

These paper forms may be used in special circumstances when you don't have access to the register.

Read the mortality review process flow chart [PDF 26.8 KB].

We review and classify deaths to understand how anaesthesia may have contributed to the outcome.

We classify deaths as:

  • death attributed to anaesthesia
  • death where anaesthesia has played no part
  • un-assessable death.

We also look at factors that may have caused or contributed to the death.

These may include:

  • preoperative assessment and management
  • anaesthesia technique, drugs and management
  • postoperative care
  • organisational factors.

Read the case classification glossary of terms [PDF 50.28 KB] to learn more.

Membership

Our chair is a specialist anaesthetist nominated by Queensland Health.

Our members include:

  • a specialist anaesthetist nominated by the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists
  • a specialist anaesthetist nominated by the Australian Society of Anaesthetists
  • a specialist anaesthetist nominated by the Australian Medical Association
  • a specialist anaesthetist nominated by the Private Hospitals Association
  • a specialist anaesthetist from regional Queensland nominated by SWAPNet
  • a GP rural generalist or specialist anaesthetist from rural Queensland nominated by SWAPNet
  • a senior allied health professional (technician or nurse) nominated by SWAPNet
  • a specialist surgeon nominated by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons
  • a surgeon (trauma specialist) nominated by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons
  • a pathologist nominated by the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia.

We also appoint temporary members based on the cases we’re reviewing.

Chair

Dr James Troup
Deputy Director of Anaesthesia, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital

Contact us

For more information about Queensland Perioperative and Periprocedural Anaesthetic Mortality Review Committee email qppamrc@health.qld.gov.au.

Last updated: March 2025

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