First Hospital In Kent To Achieve ‘Gold Standard’ Theatre Safety Accreditation

KIMS Hospital becomes the first hospital in Kent to achieve the Association for Perioperative Practice (AfPP) accreditation for their high standards of patient safety across their five theatres.

Lindsey King, Practice Development Lead Theatres at KIMS Hospital, comments, “We’re proud of the high standards we have in our theatres and this accreditation recognises the hard work and dedication of our theatre team. Working with AfPP during the Accreditation process has proved to be useful and rewarding. We work in a culture that is always adapting so the Audit process has helped to embed the high standards which we set out to adhere to. Patient safety is at the heart of everything we do, we want them to feel safe and well-cared for every step of the way.”

Advocating for Safer Surgery in the UK, the AfPP provides guidance and recommendations on safe practice within the perioperative environment and gold standard of all core theatre competencies. This, in turn creates best practice and high-quality patient pathway processes within an ever-changing perioperative environment, making it safer for all patients.

The theatre team achieved accreditation within a year of starting the process, with the AfPP visiting the hospital to audit the quality of care and risk management processes, carry out interviews with senior and clinical staff, review surgery policies, and observe surgery in theatre.

AfPP Consultant, John Tarrant, said: “We visited the site in Kent twice this year and saw first-hand effective leadership and the high level of communication from clinical staff to senior management. The level of respect and support KIMS Hospital staff show each other is to be commended and we are delighted to have awarded them their accreditation for their commitment to patient safety.”

KIMS Hospital is the largest independent hospital in Kent, carrying out almost 10,000 surgeries in the past year.