Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust anaesthetists rewarded for high quality patient care

Anaesthetists at the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust have been recognised for providing the highest quality care to their patients. The department have achieved the prestigious Anaesthesia Clinical Services Accreditation (ACSA) from the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA) demonstrating their commitment to patient safety and excellence of care. 

ACSA is the RCoA’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.

Dr Moira O’Meara, ACSA lead, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: 
 “We are delighted to receive the Anaesthesia Clinical Services Accreditation. We have a very large department on multiple sites in Leeds, with a diverse range of specialties, and the accreditation process has provided us with a structure that unifies the department. It has enabled us as a team to really think about what we do well, where we should be celebrating those achievements and also to identify where we could develop further. Historically as a department, we have tended to downplay our achievements, but the process of gaining ACSA approval has given us a collective confidence to continue on the improvement journey from a very good starting point. This will be an even better service for patients. We are grateful to the ACSA team who were fair, encouraging and thoughtful.”

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. 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 fantastic to see the many innovative practices taking place at Leeds which helps them keep patients as the primary focus and deliver excellent flexibility to match patient’s needs. 

“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.”

Dr James Palmer RCoA ACSA lead reviewer, said: “I am immensely pleased that Leeds succeeded in gaining accreditation given the complexities of the geographical layout and the difficulties of managing standards across several sites. The hard work of all those in the department involved in the project was evident from the engagement shown at the review team visit and in the submission of supplemental evidence subsequently. The effort put in by the ACSA lead and in particular by the clinical director were most impressive. Congratulations!”