Anaesthetic Department recognised as leader in service provision
On 14 June the anaesthetic department at South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust became the latest to receive the prestigious Anaesthesia Clinical Services Accreditation (ACSA) in recognition of the excellent service it provides. As a unique peer-review scheme developed by the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA), ACSA enables departments to demonstrate quality in key areas, including patient experience and safe care. More than 65 hospitals nationwide are engaged in the process, which has received acclaim from regulators including the Care Quality Commission.
Dr Liam Brennan, President of the RCoA, stated that the process should help departments to focus on sharing best practice, clinical governance and ultimately improving patient care: “The College’s peer review scheme is based on a relevant and robust set of standards set by the profession, for the profession. With patient safety at its heart, ACSA delivers a recognised benchmark for anaesthetic service provision based on the application of contemporary professional guidance. ACSA promotes and supports quality improvement, and the value of the College’s professionally led accreditation scheme is continuing to gather momentum.”
Dr Jonathan Chambers, ACSA lead reviewer, described South Warwickshire’s anaesthetic department as providing ‘an excellent service to its population’. He said: “They demonstrate strong leadership and have a clear focus on patient safety. The care they deliver is of a high standard in all areas and their approach to innovation and new ways of working is an example to the specialty.”
South Warwickshire acknowledges that the peer-review scheme has been a rewarding process. Dr Ishwinder Suri, ACSA lead at the Trust, said that the process ‘boosted the morale and team spirit of the department’, adding: “The journey to get the ACSA accreditation started 18 months ago during which our department came together to demonstrate and assimilate the quality assured work that had been on going over the years. The ACSA review process gave us the drive to demonstrate this in the domains related to care pathways, equipment, facilities and staffing, patient experience and clinical governance.”
With the ACSA scheme continuing to grow in influence, it is anticipated that up to 20 percent of UK anaesthetic departments will be accredited in the next two years and possibly 50 percent within five years. Dr Suri praised the College for the review process: “We believe that the RCoA has led the way across the country by driving up the clinical quality and safety standards to which we plan to adhere to.”
Dr Jonathan Chambers (ACSA Lead Reviewer), Ishwinder Suri (Clinical Director), Charles Ashton (Medical Director), Rathinavel Shanmugam (Consultant)
