The Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) in Lynn is celebrating after one of its departments received a sought-after accreditation.
Its Anaesthetic Department has been awarded the Royal College of Anaesthetists Anaesthesia Clinical Services Accreditation (ACSA), meaning that the QEH becomes one of a small number of hospitals to have received this accolade.
Alistair Steel, a consultant anaesthetist, led the hospital’s efforts to gain the accreditation.
He said: “We are thrilled to receive our ACSA – and this is a tremendous recognition of the work undertaken by the entire Anaesthetic team here at the QEH.
“It also recognises the hard work and support of our colleagues – our operating department practitioners, theatre nurses, pain team, theatre orderlies and hospital managers, among many others.”
Mr Steel added: “This is the culmination of a long journey to accreditation, whilst working through the COVID pandemic.
“As a result of the reviews we’ve undertaken, we have implemented a range of new initiatives, for example installing a new alert system which has vastly improved our department’s emergency support and response times.”
Becoming accredited is a voluntary process which involves the anaesthetics team reviewing and assessing all elements of their service to look for ways to improve services for patients and ensure the smooth running of the department.
The accreditation lasts for four years and is recognised by the Care Quality Commission.
The team at the QEH conducted a review of all their services and facilities, identified areas for improvement and implemented a range of initiatives before applying to the Royal College of Anaesthetists to be assessed.
The acting medical director of the QEH, Dr Govindan Raghuraman, said: “This accreditation helps us stand out as a centre of excellence in anaesthesia.
“It’s a fantastic achievement for this department and puts the QEH on the map as a place to work in this field. Congratulations to the whole team for their hard work and dedication.”
The department received a plaque commemorating their achievement, which was presented by Dr Satya Francis, a Royal College of Anaesthetists council member.
She 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.”
Dr Francis added: “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.”
Reporting by Amelia Platt
