Case Management in the Psychiatric ICU-The Clinical Governance Perspective - Essay Example

The word Clinical Governance derives its roots from Corporate Governance, which aims at ensuring sound business and financial management. The term Governance therefore has significance in clinical practice since it addresses concerns about quality of health (Lazare 1987). Department of Health (1999) defines Clinical Governance as, "a framework through which NHS organisations are accountable for continuously improving the quality of their services and safe-guarding high standards of care by creating an environment in which excellence in clinical care will flourish".

Clinical governance is aimed at improving the quality of clinical care at all levels of an organization by consolidating, codifying, and standardizing organizational policies and approaches, particularly clinical and corporate accountability (Scally & Donaldson, 1998). Clinical Governance is also explained as the ability to create an effective change in order to achieve improved quality of care. (O'Kelly,2003). It aims at ensuring that standards are adhered to and processes are mapped for continuous quality improvement Natalie Jones (2004).

Its focus is on providing holistic care to patients and more than a structure, it is an ideology to be adopted and implemented by healthcare organizations. 1. There are seven key principles, commonly referred to as the seven pillars supporting Clinical Governance (Camden 2004;,South Leeds, 2005). These are explained below: 1. Clinical Audit: This refers to adherence of nationally set standards for clinical care by National Service Framework (NSF), and those set by the organization locally. Clinical audit also involves sharing information with others in the healthcare industry for benchmarking and exchange of best practices.

Department of Health, Government of Western Autralia, n.d.) points out that "Clinical audit is the cyclical process of reviewing clinical performance, refining practice as a result and measuring the outcomes against agreed standards. Part of good clinical practice for generations, audit is practised at a number of levels, from regular morbidity and mortality reviews through to national studies. There are many successful examples of its application, such as the national audit of stroke, undertaken in the UK". 2. Clinical Effectiveness: Ensuring that patients get the right treatment is assurance of clinical effectiveness.

This implies using evidence based medicine and keeping abreast with latest updates in medicine. 3. Patient and Public Involvement: Clinical governance emphasizes user participation. Patient's feedback to the service provided is an important precursor to quality improvement. 4. Risk Management : Optimum processes for service delivery is essential in minimizing risks to both patient and staff . Reporting of errors and lapses is a crucial step in risk management since it controls future errors. And though clinical governance places importance on robust systems to control lapses, it also recognizes that clinicians are human beings and can make errors.

Recognizing the human element as an integral aspect of healthcare delivery gives great strength and wide acceptance to the concept of clinical governance.5. Staffing and Staff Management: Encouraging teamwork and helping