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Clinical Governance

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Clinical Governance
Critically analyse how clinical governance can ensure accountability of individuals and teams and that nursing practice is safe and of a high standard?
As Defined by Scally and Donaldson 1998, clinical governance is:

“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 will flourish” (NHS Executive, 1998).

The aim of the NHS is to ensure continuous improvement in the standards of clinical care, to prevent errors in clinical practice, to raise standards and improving outcomes offering access to a range of healthcare services (Freedom D, 2002). This paper intends to critically evaluate ways in which clinical governance ensures professional accountability taking into account current health policy and legislation. This assignment aims to provide knowledge into issues in relation to the management and supervision within the care of adult nursing through the use of relevant literature. Furthermore, this paper will critically analyse three components of clinical governance: risk management, clinical supervision and evidence-base practice.

Governed through an umbrella of clinical standards, the NHS ensures that these standards: risk management, clinical supervision and evidence-base practice are of a safe and high standard. (Freedom D, 2002). In 1948, the NHS was traditionally devised with no particular agenda for quality, assuming that quality would devise through the provision of the training and education of all NHS staff (Department of Health, 1997). It could be argued that clinical practitioners where traditionally part of a role culture, being unable to develop and exercise their clinical practice and are said to have been “belonged to hierarchical structures where the only way to a higher pay packet was not clinical excellence but a move into management” (Wattis et al 1999). Since



References: Beasley C, Sarah M (2007) The Evidence-Based Practice Manual for Nurses 2nd Edition, Churchill Livingstone, London. Bishop V (1994) Clinical supervision for an accountable profession Bishop V, (1998) Clinical Supervision: What is it? In: Bishop V (ed.) Clinical Supervision in Practice: Some Questions, Answers and Guidelines. Macmillan/NTResearch, Basingstoke. Bond M, Holland S (1998) Skills for Clinical Supervision for Nurses Department of Health (1994) Working in Partnership: A collaborative Approach to Care. Report of the Government Review of Mental Health Nursing. HMSO, London. Department of Health. Working for patients. London: HMSO, 1989. (Cm 555.) Department of Health (1997) Driscoll J (2000) Practising Clinical Supervision: A reflective approach, Royal College of Nursing, Bailliere Tindall, London Driscoll J, (2000)Practicing Clinical Supervision Farnham D, (1993) Horton S, eds. Managing the new public services, London Freedman D, (2002) Clinical governance-bridging management and clinical approaches to quality in the UK Leatherman S, Sutherland K (1998) Evolving Quality in the new NHS: policy, process, and pragmatic considerations. University of Cambridge, Trumpington Street, Cambridge. pp54-61 McKenna, H., P., Ashton, S., Keeney, S NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (2008): Clinical Governance and Risk Management: Achieving safe, effective, patient-focused care and services, Edinburgh Office, Edinburgh Scally G, Donaldson LJ Thompson C, Dowding D (2002) Clinical Decision Making and Judgement in Nursing 1st Edition. Churchill Livingstone. London UKCC (1992) The Scope of Professional Practice Upton, D., Upton,P. (2005). “Nurses’ attitudes to evidence-based practice: impact of a national policy”. British Journal of Nursing, Vol 14, No 5,pp.284-288 Vincent C (2001), Clinical Risk Management, Enhancing patient safety Wattis J, McGinnis P, (1999) Clinical governance and continuing professional development, Advances in Psychiatric Treatment. Vol 5. pp 233-239. Wilson JH, (1999) risk reviews using a risk management strategy White E, Butterworth T, Bishop V, Carson J, Jeacock J, Clements A (1998) Clinical Supervision: Insider reports of a private world. Journal of Advanced Nursing, oo185-192.

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