Buckinghamshire NHS Trust anaesthetists rewarded for high quality patient care
Buckinghamshire NHS Trust has 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 Sara Law, Buckinghamshire NHS Trust ACSA lead, said:
“Our journey towards ACSA reaccreditation has been an interesting time with the whole department working together to realise the high standards of patient care and safety expected. We have cooperated with other departments to make some necessary improvements to our care pathways and the on-site visit allowed us to showcase some of our best achievements. The review team were friendly and supportive, taking time to speak to as many people as possible and the final report was very helpful in highlighting areas of excellence and guiding us to further projects. We are proud to have gained reaccreditation and the ACSA Committee’s recognition of our services has provided a much-needed morale boost after a challenging couple of years.”
Dr Ritchie Marcus, ACSA lead reviewer, said:
“On behalf of the ACSA team I would like to congratulate Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust on achieving their ACSA re-accreditation. We found a very welcoming, cohesive department that especially valued all members of the anaesthetic team. There was a strong commitment to quality with improvements over the last four years including strengthening out of hours cover, maternity care and critical care outreach. The department showed strong working relationships with management and other specialties and a commitment to improving patient care through IT developments.”
Dr Toni Brunning, 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.”