Sheffield Teaching Hospitals anaesthetics team commended for high quality patient safety and care

L-R: Evette Wilson Anaesthetic Associate, Emma Joel Nurse Director Anaesthesia and Operating Services, Dr Ian Shaw Consultant Anaesthetist, ACSA Lead, Jayne Turner Lead Practitioner and Nichola Hamblett Recovery Sister at the Northern General Hospital.

The commendation comes from the prestigious Royal College of Anaesthetists.

In recognition of the standard of care, the team have been awarded Anaesthesia Clinical Services Accreditation (ACSA) accreditation once again.

ACSA is the college’s peer-reviewed scheme that promotes 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 Karl Brennan, clinical director, anaesthesia and operating services at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are exceptionally proud of the care we provide to patients across the city, so we are delighted to have achieved renewal of this prestigious award.

"This is the culmination of over five years’ hard work and a fantastic acknowledgement of the whole team’s ongoing commitment to maintaining the highest standards of care. The last 18 months have been exceptionally challenging for our teams and those we work alongside and so to receive this news now is a real boost.

"However, we are never complacent, and we will continue to look for opportunities to drive the highest standards of care to our patients.”

Professor Ravi Mahajan, President of the Royal College of Anaesthetists, said: “Achieving accreditation in the first place is a great accomplishment and it is very impressive to see the commitment and approach of the whole department to maintaining their standards and being re-accredited.

"It is richly deserved and demonstrates their commitment to providing the best possible care for their patients. It was also very impressive to see the innovative practices taking place at the hospital. 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.”

The anaesthetic teams are based at both the Northern General and the Royal Hallamshire hospitals and provide specialist support to all Sheffield’s five adult hospitals.