Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust anaesthetists rewarded for high quality patient care 

Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has been 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 Ylva Bengtsson, ACSA lead Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said:   

“For a department of our size engaging with the ACSA process has been an equally challenging and rewarding activity. We made the decision of becoming involved with ACSA in the period just ahead of the COVID pandemic and the related events have been an obstacle for a little while, but the team really felt the need of a high-quality review process, and we proudly managed to complete it. The ACSA review allowed us to recognise and share our strength and focus on those areas requiring improvement, by establishing new processes and standardising and improving those already in place. We are delighted to have achieved ACSA accreditation and we strongly believe that all the hard work undertaken by the anaesthetic department and the whole perioperative team ultimately will bring benefit to the patients and improve their experience.” 

Dr Chris Taylor, Council Member 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 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.”