The Anaesthesia Clinical Services Accreditation (ACSA) is a peer-reviewed scheme that promotes quality improvement and the highest standards of anaesthetic service. To receive accreditation, departments are expected to demonstrate high standards in areas such as patient experience, patient safety and quality.
A ceremony marking the achievement for United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (ULTH), took place at Pilgrim Hospital, Boston led by Dr Jonathan Thompson, who visited on behalf of the Royal College of Anaesthetists.
Plaques recognising this achievement are now in place in all four sites of ULTH Theatres at Boston, Grantham, Lincoln and Louth hospitals.
Dr Jayanth Sampath, Consultant Anaesthetist at ULTH, said: “Our successful accreditation is the culmination of several years of work to evidence how our teams deliver the high standards expected for our patients.
“During the accreditation process, we have welcomed visits to all four sites of ULTH and have been very proud to show how we have been investing in the development of our teams and the care we provide.”
In the review report, the review team found ‘a hard-working and dedicated service that focuses on providing the best possible care for their patients’. The report highlighted how staff were ‘friendly and knowledgeable’, and their ‘solid’ working relationships.
The team was commended for their efforts in ‘taking great strides to create greater cohesiveness’ across the Trust sites, and for work to standardise equipment across the sites.
Dr Jonathan Thompson, on behalf of the Royal College of Anaesthetists, said: “I would like to offer my personal congratulations to the entire anaesthetic department on achieving ACSA accreditation. It is very impressive to see the commitment and approach of the whole department to sustaining their standards. They have demonstrated their ability and passion for providing the best possible care for their patients.
“Patient safety is at the heart of what we do as a Medical Royal College. The quality improvement demonstrated during the accreditation process has helped the department manage the immense tasks presented to them by COVID-19 and the resumption of normal services.
“It was impressive to see the innovative practices taking place at the hospital, and the excellent commitment from all staff during the process. As well as meeting the standards, the department demonstrated many areas of excellent advanced practice that have now been highlighted for sharing through the ACSA network.”