Table 4.

Reasons for delay of more than 50 minutes between decision to deliver and delivery by caesarean section. Values are numbers of deliveries

Reason for delay	1997	1998	1999	Total
Multiple attempts at spinal anaesthesia	2	4	6	12
Awaiting epidural top-up	2	1	0	3
Delay getting consent*	2	0	2	4
Delay moving to theatre	2	2	1	5
Delay getting staff because of another caesarean section	2	0	1	3
Awaiting results of blood tests	1	0	0	1
Not clear	1	0	0	1

^*Problem was long explanation rather than reluctance to agree.