Your Anaesthetist
Dr Anthony Singh is a specialist anaesthetist, experienced in anaesthesia for a variety of surgical procedures. Born and bred in Queensland, Dr Anthony Singh completed his medical training at the University of Melbourne. He undertook his specialist anaesthetic training in Melbourne, and is currently a Consultant Anaesthetist at the Austin Hospital and works at most private hospitals in Melbourne.
Dr Anthony Singh is a Specialist with the Medical Board of Australia, a Fellow of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA), a member of the Australian Medical Association (AMA), and the Australian Society of Anaesthetists (ASA).
Dr Anthony Singh
MBBS (Melb), MBA (Melb), FANZCA
Specialist Anaesthetist
Anaesthesia in Australia
Anaesthetists such as Dr Anthony Singh are specialist medical doctors who have undertaken advanced training. Australia has one of the safest anaesthetic care delivery models. This is due to world class training, which is rigorous and typically 14 years duration (university, hospital and with the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthesia). Dr Anthony Singh will be constantly monitoring you throughout the procedure, and ensuring your well-being and comfort. Anaesthetists are crucial for modern surgery and essential for monitoring and preservation of life during the procedure.
Types of Anaesthesia
Depending on a number of factors, such as the type of surgery and your medical history, there may be a number of anaesthetic alternatives available. These will be discussed with you in some detail by Dr Anthony Singh during your pre-anaesthetic consultation:
Sedation/Twilight
Anaesthesia
While you are being constantly monitored by Dr Anthony Singh, you are given anaesthetic medicine to ensure you are comfortable during the procedure. The first memory that most patients have is waking up in the recovery room. Although it is a light anaesthetic, you must not drive afterwards, and you should have someone to look after you.
General
Anaesthesia
You are unconscious for the duration of the procedure. This is achieved and maintained through the use of a combination of anaesthetic medicines. Dr Anthony Singh will be with you throughout the procedure and will be constantly monitoring your condition. He will adjust the level of anaesthetic as required throughout and ensure you are as comfortable as possible during and after the procedure.
Anaesthesia is very safe, but there are a number of things you need to be aware of when undergoing any anaesthetic procedure. Most people suffer no ill effects.
Minor/temporary side effects may include headache, nausea and vomiting, bruising at the injection site, temporary nerve damage, dental damage and throat irritation.
More serious complications are very rare. Allergy to medication is possible, but uncommon. Some people are very occasionally at risk of recall of surgery, but precautions can be taken to reduce this risk. Medical complications such as heart attack, stroke, brain damage and death are extremely uncommon in patients without a history of heart or lung disease, high blood pressure, previous stroke, diabetes or smoking. Those patients are in a higher risk category, as are older patients. If you fall in a higher risk group, Dr Anthony Singh can discuss this in detail and suggest ways of reducing this risk for you.
Regional Anaesthesia,
including spinal and epidural
This may be the main type of anaesthetic, or in combination with general anaesthesia or sedation to provide post-operative pain relief. These techniques involve an injection with a very fine needle, using local anaesthetic. The aim is to temporarily numb the nerves to stop pain. Local anaesthetic medication is injected around the nerves. In the case of a spinal or epidural, the medicine is injected into your back to numb the lower part of your body. Dr Anthony Singh will explain the process and any risks in detail depending on the type of procedure you are having. Regional anaesthesia is very safe – feared complications such as permanent paralysis or nerve damage are exceedingly rare in modern anaesthetic practice. It is important that you tell your anaesthetist if you are taking any blood thinning medication, as this can increase the risk in some cases.
Fasting and Medication
It is vital for your safety that you follow these instructions. Dr Anthony Singh or the hospital/surgeon may give you different instructions based on your circumstances. However, in general, if your procedure is in the morning you must not have anything to eat after midnight. If your procedure is in the afternoon, please have a light breakfast before 7.30 am and do not eat or drink anything else after this time.
You may still drink small amounts of water until 2 hours before the time you are to attend the hospital.
**Children – breast milk may be given up to four hours, and clear fluids (no juice with bits in it) up to two hours prior.
Unless your doctor or Dr Anthony Singh tell you otherwise, you should take your regular tablets with a small amount of water. If you are diabetic, you may receive some further specific instructions. You may have been instructed by your surgeon to stop or adjust any blood-thinning medication. Please ask Dr Anthony Singh if you are unsure. Please bring all your medication to hospital with you.
Pain Control
Dr Anthony Singh will ensure you receive pain relief medications while you are under anaesthetic and in the recovery room. You may have some discomfort when you wake up – if required, more medicine will be given to you in hospital until you are comfortable. Dr Anthony Singh will also give you a prescription for pain relief medications that you can use at home
Anaesthesia Fees
Dr Anthony Singh’s anaesthetic account is separate from both your surgical fees and your hospital invoice. Your fees are calculated using the Australian Society of Anaesthetists (ASA) schedule of fees, which allocates a certain number of units to each case. According to this schedule, many details are taken into account in determining the cost of your treatment, including the predetermined degree of difficulty of the anaesthesia, the health and age of the patient, the duration of treatment and also whether or not it is an elective/emergency operation.
The ASA (and AMA) recommended fee reflects the true cost of anaesthesia, and is $89 per unit. In comparison, Medicare has not kept pace with the cost of care, and provides a rebate of around $20 per unit. Dr Anthony Singh’s fees are generally $55-66 per unit (around 65-70% of the recommended fee).
Being a member of a private health fund may increase your rebate, but in most instances, the funds do not cover the entire cost of your anaesthetic service, leaving you with a “gap” payment. Private health funds vary considerably in terms of rebates they provide.
It can be confusing, so Dr Anthony Singh will provide you with an estimate of any out of pocket expenses prior to your procedure. Workcover, TAC and Veterans Affairs patients are covered under a different arrangement, and in most cases will have no out of pocket expense. Where possible, we aim to reduce the gap for pensioners.