Clinical Governance
Explain what is meant by the term ‘clinical governance’ AND discuss the implications and impact of clinical governance on practicing pharmacists and pharmacy services.
Throughout the world, societies are striving to determine how best to organise their health systems and deliver services. Increasingly, there is recognition that the development and evaluation of new therapies and diagnostic tools is only part of the answer to better health care(1). Clinical governance first began to appear in the NHS vocabulary after Labour came to power in the 1977 and was one of the foundation stones of the NHS planning blueprint. The NHS plan was published in 2000 and the policy has underpinned the governments raft of reforms ever since (2). The department of health’s clinical governance support team defines clinical governance as: “A framework through which NHS organisations are accountable for continuously improving the quality of their services and safeguarding high standards of care by creating an environment in which excellence in clinical care can flourish” (3).
When major reforms of health care and social services were introduced in the 1990 in the NHS and Community care act the government put quality on the agenda for the first time. The reforms were based on two white papers: Working for patients (department of health 1989a), with its focus on the NHS, and Caring for people (Department of health 1989b), which addressed care in the community. These aspects collectively contribute to the idea of clinical governance (4). The standards of clinical governance were set nationally by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE), which were agreed by wide consultation and use of research into effectiveness and cost effectiveness of clinical practices. National Service Frameworks (NSF) also set standards. A key element of good clinical governance is work to deliver the standards set by NSFs and the NICE(5). Principles of clinical governance extend to
Throughout the world, societies are striving to determine how best to organise their health systems and deliver services. Increasingly, there is recognition that the development and evaluation of new therapies and diagnostic tools is only part of the answer to better health care(1). Clinical governance first began to appear in the NHS vocabulary after Labour came to power in the 1977 and was one of the foundation stones of the NHS planning blueprint. The NHS plan was published in 2000 and the policy has underpinned the governments raft of reforms ever since (2). The department of health’s clinical governance support team defines clinical governance as: “A framework through which NHS organisations are accountable for continuously improving the quality of their services and safeguarding high standards of care by creating an environment in which excellence in clinical care can flourish” (3).
When major reforms of health care and social services were introduced in the 1990 in the NHS and Community care act the government put quality on the agenda for the first time. The reforms were based on two white papers: Working for patients (department of health 1989a), with its focus on the NHS, and Caring for people (Department of health 1989b), which addressed care in the community. These aspects collectively contribute to the idea of clinical governance (4). The standards of clinical governance were set nationally by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE), which were agreed by wide consultation and use of research into effectiveness and cost effectiveness of clinical practices. National Service Frameworks (NSF) also set standards. A key element of good clinical governance is work to deliver the standards set by NSFs and the NICE(5). Principles of clinical governance extend to
Bibliography: 3) Clinical Governance: Quality in the new NHS. (HSC 1999/065) Department of Health, London, (1999). 4) THOMPSON JEANETTE, PICKERING SHARON ‘Clinical Governance and Best Value’. Churchill Livingstone, London and New York. pp 5-6. (2003) 5) ZAHIR KEYVAN 11) An organisation with a memory. Department of Health, London (2000). 14) STAREY NIGEL. ‘What is clinical governance?’ (2001). Vol: 1 number 12. [online].Available from: http://www.medicine.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/painres/download/whatis/WhatisClinGov.pdf [Accessed 17th November 2010]