Department of Anaesthesiology of the Hospital of Sierre

The Anaesthesiology Department of the Sierre Hospital is an integral part of the Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Department (SAR) of the Centre Hospitalier du Valais Romand (CHVR). The senior doctors work mainly at the Sierre and Sion sites, while the junior doctors spend periods at the three sites of Sierre, Martigny and Sion.

The operating block in Sierre operates 3 operating rooms on weekdays and performs around 3,000 operations per year. On nights and weekends, the anaesthesia team is on call at the Sion site.

The surgical activity in Sierre includes the following specialities: urology, hand surgery, plastic and reconstructive surgery, cosmetic surgery, general surgery, maxillofacial surgery and proctology.

It is primarily an elective activity with an increasing share of emergency and delayed emergency activity.

A particular mandate is the development of outpatient surgery. A large proportion of patients come in on the morning of the operation and leave in the evening after a short stay at the Ambulatory Surgery Centre (ASC).

All modern anaesthetic techniques are available to patients. Within the framework of ambulatory medicine, we favour loco-regional anaesthesia techniques, which we are continuing to develop. Ultrasound-guided locoregional anaesthesia is a standard for all procedures.

In addition, we have acquired a virtual reality headset which combines relaxing music, peaceful virtual worlds and a relaxation technique centred on breathing in order to reduce stress and pain during loco-regional anaesthesia procedures.

In agreement with the surgeon and at the patient's request, some procedures are performed under hypnosis by anaesthesia nurses.

In addition, the anaesthesia team performs PICC-ports for patients requiring chemotherapy. This technique is an alternative to traditional port-a-cath. Patients are referred by the oncology treatment centres of the CHVR and the Spitalzentrum Oberwallis (SZO).

In short, you will find in Sierre a motivated anaesthesia team, using the most modern anaesthesia techniques and focused on the reception and well-being of the patients entrusted to them.

The anaesthesiology department at Sierre Hospital is an integral part of the Anaesthesiology and Reuscitation Department (‘Département d’anesthésiologie et de reanimation’, DAR) of the Centre Hospitalier du Valais Romand. It is provided with 2.1 consultant positions (FMH specialists), with one training assistant, eight anaesthetic nurses and two recovery room nurses. The doctors work mainly on the Sierre site, but take it in turns to be on-call at Sion. Likewise, anaesthetists from Sion regularly come to work on the Sierre site.

The anaesthetist’s work mainly takes place in the operating block, which is open on working days from 07:00 to 17:00. This is above all an elective activity, except for a few emergency cases which come up during the day. The operating block is equipped with 5 operating theatres which cater to patients from the following departments: urology, hand surgery, plastic surgery, minor general surgery, specialised foot surgery, maxilla-facial surgery and gastroenterology.

At nights and on weekends, on-call anaesthesia is provided by the on-call team at Sion Hospital.

A special aim of the department is to develop outpatient surgery. A large number of our patients come in on the morning of their operation and leave in the evening following a short stay in the day clinic. Many of these patients have been seen by an anaesthetist beforehand, a few days earlier, at the UEP (Unité d’Évaluation Préopératoire = Pre-Operation Evaluation Unit) and already know the type of anaesthesia they will receive during their intervention.

All modern anaesthetic techniques are at the patient’s disposal. Within the context of outpatient medicine, we favour locoregional anaesthetic techniques, which we are continuing to develop. The purchase of an ultrasound device has allowed us to use a new approach in localising nerves for peripheral nerve blocks. This technique, which is more comfortable for the patient, is also above all extremely precise and seems to have fewer side effects.

In short, at Sierre you will find a motivated anaesthetics team, which uses the most modern anaesthetic techniques and which focuses on the treatment and well-being of the patients who are entrusted to it.