North Bristol NHS Trust anaesthetists rewarded for high quality patient care

Anaesthetists at North Bristol NHS Trust have been recognised for providing the highest quality care to their patients. The department were presented the prestigious Anaesthesia Clinical Services Accreditation (ACSA) by Dr Fiona Donald, Vice President of the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA), at a ceremony on 17 December. 

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 Nick Preston, ACSA Lead, North Bristol NHS Trust said: 

“North Bristol NHS Trust went through an incredible journey of quality and safety improvement, ACSA helped us to improve so many areas both for us and for the patients, it also bonded our two merged departments and was thoroughly worthwhile.  I would encourage every department to jump into it. It has helped us get the resources and processes in place to be a truly awesome anaesthetic Service, fit for today's NHS - we are all proud to be No. 34.”

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, this was particularly important given the recent merger of clinical services on the Southmead site. North Bristol 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 Jonathan Chambers, RCoA ACSA lead reviewer, said: 

“I would like to congratulate the anaesthetic department at North Bristol NHS Trust on gaining ACSA accreditation. During the accreditation process they have demonstrated a strong commitment to delivering high quality anaesthetic care, a clear focus on patient safety and a desire to continue to develop the services they provide. The department has worked hard to embrace new ways of working following the merger of clinical services on the Southmead site and their ACSA accreditation reflects their commitment to providing excellent patient centred care.”