Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust anaesthetists rewarded for high quality patient care 

Salisbury 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 Julia Bowditch, ACSA lead Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust, said:   

“We are immensely proud to have achieved this measure of good practice and a high standard patient care here in Salisbury.  We are particularly proud of the recognition of the cohesiveness of our department and how this is valued by our colleagues and trainees. We have learned a lot and developed as a team and a service as a direct result of engaging with the ACSA process. We would like to thank everyone in all the departments we work with and for the RCoA ACSA team for their help and support in achieving this accreditation.” 

Dr Deepa Kallayiram, ACSA lead clinical reviewer, said: 

"The Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust anaesthetic department is a safe and forward thinking one that works collaboratively with other clinical teams throughout the perioperative pathway to improve outcomes for patients. It was impressive to witness the patient centred culture despite funding and resource limitations. The RT was particularly impressed with the positive feedback from the anaesthetists in training and the trust’s contribution to anaesthetic training specifically with relation to securing funding and establishing a regional fellowship program. I take great pride in congratulating them for all their hard work and the efforts put in to achieve the accreditation status." 

Ms Jenny Dorey, ACSA lay reviewer, said:  

“On our visit to Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust anaesthetic department we found a very obvious patient centred service, despite the challenges it is facing. A particular example for me was the description of the anaesthetist first meeting a patient at preassessment, then continuing to follow their journey by liaising with the surgeon and anaesthetist involved in their care. Salisbury works with many different hospitals, providing general and acute services and referring patients for tertiary care, while also providing tertiary and specialist services itself. The coordination and collaboration seems to work well and staff enjoy working at Salisbury. I would feel well cared for as a patient at this hospital. Congratulations and well done to the whole team.” 

Dr Fiona Donald, 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 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.”