Editor,—Accident and emergency (A&E) trainees are required to spend a minimum of three months on secondment to anaesthetics and the intensive care unit (ICU) if they have not already obtained adequate anaesthetic/ICU experience before entering the specialty. The depth and breadth of experience varies widely. Sometimes, the trainee is purely supernumerary and gains little experience other than placing laryngeal masks and endotracheal tubes. We have each been fortunate enough to spend six months as trainee senior house officer (SHO) anaesthetists as part of our rotations. …