Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care (SAR) at Sion Hospital covers all surgical specialities excluding transplant surgery. Our daily activity involves handling critical emergencies in the Centre du Valais and any emergencies whose specialities are not represented in the rest of the Canton (e.g.: neurosurgery, cardiac surgery, paediatric surgery…), as well as providing anaesthetic services for elective surgery in all fields.

The distribution of activities between the three sites of the SAR has focussed major surgery on the Sion site, which is why Sion has become the main site of the SAR, with the largest staff. Sion also handles all round-the-clock emergency activities.

The work is distributed between different sectors. We are equipped with seven main operating theatres, one urology room and one septic room. We also intervene in the radiology department (IRM, scanner and interventional radiology), in Accident & Emergency (cast room, critical emergencies, multiple traumas), in the cardiac catheterisation room, in the endoscopy room (gastroscopy, colposcopy, bronchoscopy), and provide our support for some technical procedures in intensive care.

All the latest anaesthetic techniques are available. In addition, all the senior doctors are specialised in certain areas (such as paediatrics, cardio-thoracic anaesthesia, loco-regional anaesthesia or analgesia, for example) to offer the best care in all medical specialities.

The UEP (Unité d’Évaluation Préopératoire = Pre-Operation Evaluation Unit) is also included in our activities. Patients undergoing elective operations are seen around 10 days before their operation at the UEP to talk to an anaesthetist and undergo a preoperative assessment. During this consultation, the anaesthetic and the place where the intervention will take place (Sion, Sierre or Martigny) are decided upon together with the patient. Enlightened consent is obtained and a form is signed to this effect.

The anaesthesiology team at Sion Hospital also handles acute post-surgical pain. This is an important part of our activities, and provides a great comfort to patients who have to undergo major surgery.

Just like the other doctors from the peripheral sites who come to Sion, the Sion anaesthetists regularly go to Martigny or to Sierre according to the needs prevailing at each site. This allows us to standardise the techniques on the different sites and to promote communication.