The anaesthetic departments from South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust have been reaccredited under the prestigious Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA) Anaesthesia Clinical Services Accreditation (ACSA) scheme.
The perioperative services and cardiothoracic anaesthesia teams were recognised for providing ongoing commitment to clinical excellence and delivering high quality care to their patients at The James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough and the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton.
The review process
They were required to present a wide range of evidence collected over a 12-month period and undergo a 3-day visit to their hospitals at James Cook and the Friarage by a team of clinical experts and a lay reviewer from the RCoA.
ACSA is the RCoA’s peer-reviewed scheme that engages anaesthesia departments across the UK in quality improvement and the accreditation is only held by around 30% of anaesthetic departments in the UK.
The review found that the anaesthesia teams were ‘safe and forward-thinking’ and were able to demonstrate high standards in areas such as patient experience, patient safety and clinical leadership.
Dr Adrian Jennings, lead reviewer for the Royal College of Anaesthetists said:
“Congratulations to South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust on achieving ACSA reaccreditation.
We were impressed by the anaesthetic department's ongoing commitment to quality improvement, and their dedication in seeing the ACSA process through to achieve accreditation.
“The complexity of this undertaking and the cohesiveness of the units in working together to deliver and evidence outstanding patient care is commendable.
“The engagement across departments was clear throughout the review visit and we were impressed with the subsequent thoroughness to meet outstanding standards.”
Celebrating success
Rebekah Thompson, consultant anaesthetist at South Tees Hospitals is the ACSA lead for the trust.
She said: “To get the news that we had achieved ACSA reaccreditation was such a special moment for our teams.
“They all work extremely hard together to ensure that patient safety is at the forefront of what they do so to be recognised nationally for this is amazing.
We are also very lucky to be surrounded by such a fantastic group of colleagues across our trust, who without their unwavering support and dedication, this would not have been possible.”
The team celebrated their achievement with a plaque unveiling by medical director, Diane Monkhouse in January 2025.