ACSA re-accreditation for St George's University Hospitals

St George's University Hospitals 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.  

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 Sean Speers, Dr Oliver Seyfried, and Dr Sindy Lee, ACSA leads, said: 

“With a large department such as that at St. George's Hospital, a peer review of this nature is the only way to ensure we are meeting all appropriate benchmarks.  Without the ACSA oversight coordinating the process within the department would be nigh on impossible.  Re-accreditation gives confidence that our service has the necessary robust foundations to continue to provide an excellent service for our patients and colleagues.”

Dr David Whitelock, ACSA lead reviewer, said: 

“Congratulations on achieving ACSA reaccreditation. I was particularly impressed with the commitment to continuous improvement demonstrated by the whole Anaesthetic department. Maintaining weekly teaching sessions and an inventive approach to increasing engagement with the WHO safer surgery debrief (QR code system) are two examples that stood out. The centralised preoperative assessment service with its extensive onward referral pathways was another example of great patient care.”

Dr Bob Evans, ACSA lay reviewer, said: 

“As the lay member in this Review Team, I was particularly impressed by the way challenges were being met by the well-motivated and cohesive staff. The provision for day surgery was found to be excellent; and everyone was committed to safe patient-centred care.”

Dr Ramai Santhirapala, Royal College of Anaesthetists Council Member, said:  

“I would like to offer my personal congratulations to the entire anaesthetic department on achieving ACSA accreditation. It is very impressive to see the commitment and approach of the whole department to sustaining their standards. They have demonstrated their ability and passion for 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 innovative practices taking place at the hospital, and the excellent commitment from all staff during the process. 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.”