Abstract
A method is presented for determining the number of medical staff needed in a hospital to provide a high standard service in anaesthesia and intensive care. The method depends on dividing duties into those which are easily recognisable as service duties, and other duties which are not but which affect the quality of the service. The portion of the working week available for service duties is determined for each member of staff and, after allowing for leave entitlements, the annual contribution of half days to these duties is calculated. The annual service commitment of the department is worked out in half day units and a relatively simple calculation will then show how many staff are needed. The method automatically provides for all aspects of the job, not just the service element.