South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust anaesthetists rewarded for high quality patient care

Anaesthetists at South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation 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 Matthew Cheesman, Clinical Director of South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Anaesthetics Department,  said:

“As a department we are delighted to receive our ACSA accreditation. For us, it has been a genuine journey due to the challenges of limited and land-locked infrastructure within our main theatre complex. Although we met the standard in terms of governance, I am convinced that without the support of ACSA we would not have achieved what we have in terms of recovery bed expansion and providing a suitable environment for our patients.”

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 impressive to see the many innovative practices taking place at the hospital. South Tees has worked hard to 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 Sandeep Lakhani, ACSA Clinical reviewer, said:  

“My heartiest congratulations to South Tees department of anaesthesia on achieving ACSA accreditation. Throughout this process they have continued to improve the quality of their anaesthetic service. They should be very proud of the team approach in implementing all the changes that helped them achieve this accreditation. I was very impressed by their commitment and determination in using ACSA to implement changes and adopt new ways of working to achieve a high standard, safe, patient focussed service.”