I've been a doctor for ten years and I don't think I've ever asked anaesthetics for help with a cannula. I've definitely failed, but that's been pretty rare in recent years (doing geris is a great way to get good at cannulating weedy little veins) and usually down to me having a bad day (I sometimes get really cack-handed when I have PMS and start fumbling everything), in which case someone else from the team has always got one in. The very, very occasional patient where we've got nothing has either been dead (and it's been too futile to stick an IO in), or could be kept going with PO/IM options for however long it took to beg an interventional radiologist or PICC nurse to put a line in.

From the posts here, it feels like on-call anaesthetists are having to deal with requests for help with cannulas on a daily basis - is that right? If so, there's definitely work to be done in upskilling doctors on the wards so that asking anaesthetics for help becomes a far rarer occurrence. I've noticed a lot of people on this sub dismissing cannulation as a nursing task, but I'm glad that I've done so many!