Clinical Governance
Clinical governance is the system through which your organisation is accountable for continuously improving the quality of services and high standards of care. Clinical governance was born out of the need for real accountability for the safe delivery of services. It was described in the BMJ as: “A framework through which organisations are accountable for continuously improving the quality of their services and safeguarding high standards of care by creating an environment in which excellent clinical care will flourish. “ As most police and fire services are now providing levels of care above and beyond H.S.E first aid at work a clinical governance structure has to be put into place. This point was stressed at the National Fire Trauma conference in November 2008 by the Chief Fire Officers Association and the Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care from the Royal College of Surgeons.
What now?
The issue of clinical governance will be a daunting task for any police or fire service and below is a list of steps that need to be taken:-
Formation of clinical governance committee including:
- Medical Director
- Senior Operational Staff
- Senior Training Staff
- Chief Fire Officer
The clinical governance committee will be responsible for the following tasks:-
- Clinical Audit
- Training and Education
- Critical Incident Reporting
- Documentation
- Equipment selection
- Risk Management
Trauma and Resuscitation services can provide not only a medical director but also a robust clinical governance framework and assist with the formation of your organisations clinical governance committee. The medical Director will also be available for advice and support both operationally and theoretically.
For further details please contact Dr Peter Barrett at
training@trauma-resus.com.