Risk Management Policy (NHS) - Essay Example

Risk management is the process of analyzing exposure to risk and determining how to best handle such exposure (Investorwords, 2007). The risk management function must be performed in all organizations in order to prevent catastrophes from occurring and to optimize losses by predicting risk factors and finding ways to minimize the occurrence of different risks. The health care industry and institutions in this industry such as hospitals are susceptible to variety of risks and the nature of the work requires the utilization of excellent risk management techniques since the institution is dealing with the health of human beings.

This industry is susceptible to many types of risk. For example three percent of America’s $1.7 trillion annual healthcare expenditure is lost due to fraud and over charging (Lexisnexis, 2007). This paper analyzes the risk management policy of a company in the healthcare industry called NHS Greater Glasgow. The focus of the analysis is on the impact of the risk management policy on the managerial team and regular staff of employees.Risk management is taken very seriously at NHS Greater Glasgow.

For this company the risk management function is an effort that is accomplished by the cooperation of all the employees working for the firm. The current risk management policy in place in this company was establish in 2005 after the policy underwent a rigorous evaluation process that obtain input from a lot of decision makers in this enterprise working in different division of the company dispersed across the entire country. The application of the policy involves both the regular staff and the managerial staff.

The workers in this company were trained in the risk management policy of the company. The function of the non-managerial staff is to actively report incidents and accidents of occurrences, near misses and to make recommendations on how to improve the internal system of the unit they work for. The company has a corporate culture that encourages participation from all employees and any feedback from any member of the organization is analyzed to make continuous improvement of the system. The managerial staff is responsible of administration the risk management policy at NHS Greater Glasgow.

The guiding risk management principles of the company include:Incorporating clinical and non-clinical riskA comprehensive and integrated approachSupport clear processes and escalation of risk A system that advances only exception risk to the corporate register, other risks are handle at the local levelProvide assurance that effective systems are in place(NHS Greater Glasgow: Risk Management Policy).The functions of the managerial staff regarding the application of its risk management policy are: managing risk, performance monitoring, gathering accurate risk information, incorporating effective communication systems and promoting continuous improvements.

At the executive managerial level the staff keeps close relationships with its partners and uses a philosophy of mutual cooperation in order to eliminate risks in its supply chain relationships. This proactive approach is encouraged by the board of directors and corporate headquarters which is also actively involved in the process. The executives create mitigation plans that look beyond the present and incorporate a futuristic approach that allows the company to predict future trends that may be causes of risk for the company.

This enterprise has a solid system in place that properly managers risks.ReferencesInvestorwords.com (2007). Risk Management. Available from [Accessed 15 October 2007].Lexisnexis.com (2007). Risk and Information Analytics. Avaliable from [Accessed 15 October 2007].NHS Greater Glassgow: Risk Management Policy. NHS Greater Glasgow Incorporated.