East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust anaesthetists rewarded for high quality patient care

Anaesthetists at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust (ELHT) have been recognised for providing the highest quality care to their patients. The prestigious Anaesthesia Clinical Services Accreditation (ACSA) was presented at a ceremony on 30 May.

ACSA is the College’s 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 clinical leadership.

Professor Ravi Mahajan, President 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 richly deserved and demonstrates their commitment to providing the best possible care for their patients.

“Patient safety is at the heart of what we do as a medical Royal College and it was impressive to see the team use the process to develop and enhance the quality of the service they provide across the hospital.

“As well as meeting the standards, the department demonstrated many areas of excellent innovative practice that have now been highlighted for sharing through the ACSA network.”

Dr Tim Clarke, Consultant Anaesthetist, East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust said: “The ACSA process has provided evidence in support of the ELHT anaesthetic service providing safe, personal and effective care. We have been able to highlight areas of good practice and develop new policies, increase staffing numbers and purchase new equipment.

“The process has involved almost every member of the anaesthetic department and many members of our support services. The teamwork and communication required has allowed us all to share in the satisfaction of the recognition from the Royal College of Anaesthetists of having achieved the standards for accreditation. To quote one of my colleagues ‘now the College recognises what we have known for ages.”

Dr Sandeep Lakhani, ACSA lead reviewer said: “Congratulations to the anaesthetic department of East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust on achieving the well-deserved ACSA accreditation. It was a pleasure to lead the review of this department that clearly provides a high quality service and care to its patients.

“The review team were particularly impressed by their endeavour to utilise the ACSA process to implement further changes and significantly improve the quality of care it delivers. The whole department was cohesive in its approach and enthusiastically engaged with ACSA. Once again my heartiest congratulations and best wishes for the future to each and every team member of the department.”