Anaesthetics department accredited by RCoA
The Anaesthetics Department at Derriford Hospital has been accredited by the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA) as one of the first in the UK to receive Anaesthesia Clinical Services Accreditation (ACSA).
A presentation was held to celebrate and Dr Jeremy Langton, Consultant Anaesthetist at Derriford Hospital and Vice President Elect of the RCoA, presented the department with the commemorative plaque on behalf of the College.
ACSA is a unique scheme for anaesthetic departments in the NHS and independent sector that enables departments to measure their performance against defined standards and clinical guidelines and to progress to become accredited for their quality of patient care and service delivery following an external peer review visit.
Since the scheme’s launch in 2013, it has received acclaim from national regulators and to date, more than 56 NHS anaesthetic departments have begun working towards meeting the ACSA standards.
Dr Sophia Wrigley, Anaesthetics Consultant and Department ACSA Lead, said: “The Royal College of Anaesthetists Anaesthesia Clinical Services Accreditation (ACSA) has recently been launched nationally and is a voluntary scheme for NHS and independent sector organisations, which offers quality improvement through peer review.
“The Anaesthetic Department in Plymouth is delighted to be the first large NHS Trust to achieve these standards and the first in the South West. To become accredited, the department demonstrated to an external review team that we met more than 170 standards related to high quality and safe patient care.
“It is a huge achievement, to which every member of the department contributed towards working together to achieve the standards. Everyone is very pleased to be formally recognised.”
Dr Richard Struthers, Anaesthetics Service Line Lead, said: “The formal commitment to ACSA motivated all members of the department to work towards a common goal - enabling demonstration of the high standards of clinical care, teaching, research and organisational tasks already delivered within our cohesive department.
“The external recognition by the review team affirms our position to stakeholders, such as patients, commissioners, clinical colleagues and the executive team, that we put patients’ safety and delivery of all aspects of quality care at the centre of our work.”
Ann James, Chief Executive of Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “This is really brilliant news for the Anaesthetics Department at Derriford Hospital. It has been an excellent team effort and I am delighted that your hard work and commitment has been applauded and recognised by your colleagues and the Royal College of Anaesthetists.”
Dr Sophia Wrigley added: “I would like to acknowledge the contribution of all of the domain
leads – Dr Chris Seavell, Dr Ruth Treadgold, Dr Kate Holmes and Dr Gemma Crossingham and the absolute commitment and support of Dr Richard Struthers, Service Line Lead.
“Outside of the department, there have been many whose help has been crucial. To name a few - Kim Cazaly, Simon Philpott, Frances Hannon, Richard Beresford, Jayne Glynn, Jenny Pitt and Lee Budge.”
