Published on: 4th April 2024
The Anaesthetic Department at RNOH has been recognised by the professional body responsible for setting national standards in anaesthesia within the UK.
The department has been awarded ACSA (Anaesthetic Clinical Standards Accreditation) accreditation by The Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCOA). ACSA is the RCOA’s peer-reviewed quality improvement scheme. Participating departments benchmark their performance against the College’s Guidelines for the Provision of Anaesthetic Services (GPAS). This highly regarded standard provides an important indicator of the safety and effectiveness of the anaesthetic services provided by RNOH's Department of Anaesthesia.
To receive the accreditation, the Anaesthetic Department went through a process of rigorous bench-marking against the ACSA standards and implemented a number of changes prior to an onsite review by a team from the RCOA. Following that visit the department made some additional developments to meet all of the required standards, culminating in the accreditation this month. This process has helped drive significant quality improvement and service development in the department to provide an even higher standard of care to our patients.
The ACSA review described the RNOH Anaesthetic Department as “a cohesive team with a clear commitment to teamwork across the department and the wider organisation”. Several areas were also highlighted for inclusion in the RCOA’s library of good practice, a database that includes examples of good practice from sites that have been reviewed, which is accessible to other participating departments across the country.
Paul Fish, RNOH Chief Executive, said: "This accreditation reflects the extremely high standards the Anaesthetic Department work to at RNOH. I'm delighted that the RCOA has recognised such highly trained and dedicated colleagues. It's one of many key indicators across the Trust that show RNOH is delivering the very best care to our patients. Well done to all the team."