Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trusts anaesthetists rewarded for high quality patient care

Anaesthetists at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust have been re-accredited under the prestigious Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA) Anaesthesia Clinical Services Accreditation (ACSA) demonstrating their commitment to patient safety and excellence of care. The hospital department was the last to have an onsite visit from the College prior to the pandemic. 

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 Karl Brennan, Clinical Director, Anaesthesia and Operating Services, Consultant in Neuroanaesthesia & Neurocritical Care, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: 

“We are delighted to have renewal of this prestigious award. This is the culmination of over five years’ hard work, and a fantastic acknowledgement of the whole team’s ongoing commitment to maintaining the highest standards of care. We are exceptionally proud of the care we provide to patients across the city, as well as successfully completing yearly self-assessments, revalidation also involved a formal site visit.

“The formal visit took place just as the team were preparing for the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, so we would like to take this opportunity to thank the review team from the Royal College of Anaesthesia for their professionalism in particular during this time as they as they were hugely respectful of our desire to maintain our services. It has also been a real privilege to benefit from the expertise of our peers throughout the reaccreditation process, and revalidation has empowered us to put in place systems to raise our own game, highlighted opportunities to further improve care, and the high standards of care we are continuing to offer patients.”

Professor Ravi Mahajan, President of the Royal College of Anaesthetists, said: 

“Achieving accreditation in the first place is a great accomplishment and it is very impressive to see the commitment and approach of the whole department to maintaining their standards and being re-accredited. 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 hospital department was the last to be visited prior to the pandemic and 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, 
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.”