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BIOGRAPHY:

I studied medicine at the University of Oxford, and subsequently trained in anaesthesia in Birmingham and Oxford. I now practise as an NHS consultant in the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, with roles in education and simulation. Throughout my training and consultant career I have developed a strong interest in the provision of safe anaesthesia in low-income settings, with current / previous commitments to several clinical, training and research projects in sub-Saharan Africa.


Hilary Edgcombe

BM, BCh (Oxon), FRCA (Lon), MSc Global Health (KCL)


Consultant Anaesthetist

Research and training in global anaesthesia

AREAS OF INTEREST

  • The anaesthetic workforce network in low-resource settings
  • Training in global anaesthesia
  • Co-director of the Global Anaesthesia Course, Oxford/Uganda

Safe anaesthesia is a clear prerequisite for safe surgery worldwide. Billions remain unable to access life-saving operations: an important contributor to this problem is a lack of reliable anaesthetic services.

My previous work focused on the experience of non-physician anaesthesia providers in sub-Saharan Africa,  exploring how well their training prepares them for practice and the nature of their professional networks. I was also clinical lead for the LIFE project (with team members from Kenya, the Centre for Tropical Medicine and the Department of Education in Oxford), developing novel smartphone-based training tools for health workers in low-resource settings between 2016 and 2022. I am now developing research in the relevance of networks to the anaesthesia workforce in low-resource contexts, collaborating with researchers in Western Kenya and the Health Systems Collaborative in the NDM.

Key publications

Anesthesia Provider Training and Practice Models: A Survey of Africa

Journal article

Law TJ. et al, (2019), Anesthesia & Analgesia, 129, 839 - 846

Enhancing emergency care in low-income countries using mobile technology-based training tools

Journal article

Edgcombe H. et al, (2016), Archives of Disease in Childhood, 101, 1149 - 1152

Recent publications

International Consensus on Global Surgery Learning Objectives and Competencies.

Journal article

Hilzenrat RA. et al, (2025), Annals of surgery

Communication Between Anaesthesia Providers for Clinical and Professional Purposes: A Scoping Review

Journal article

Edgcombe H. et al, (2025), Anesthesiology Research and Practice, 2025

Social resource as a critical and overlooked factor for patient safety in low-resource settings.

Journal article

Edgcombe H. et al, (2025), Frontiers in health services, 5

Review of anaesthesia workforce composition in charitable organisations

Conference paper

Kudsk-Iversen S. and Edgcombe H., (2021), ANESTHESIA AND ANALGESIA, 133, 727 - 728

Global Anaesthesia

Book

Craven R. et al, (2020)

Evaluation of Adaptive Feedback in a Smartphone-Based Game on Health Care Providers’ Learning Gain: Randomized Controlled Trial

Journal article

Tuti T. et al, (2020), Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22, e17100 - e17100