At the time of its establishment, NHS QIS was charged with several new functions, including that of supporting the implementation of clinical governance in NHSScotland. In order to effectively meet this new challenge, NHS QIS first needed to consult with NHSScotland regarding current clinical governance systems and support required.
The Clinical Governance and Patient Safety Support Team was assigned the task of gaining an overview of the structures in place and identifying specific training and support requirements for clinical governance leads and support staff. The scoping exercise involved all NHSScotland Boards providing direct patient care and covered the following key areas:
- people and organisations
- networking
- the role of the clinical governance lead and support staff
- education and training
- reporting.
Data were collected from three key sources:
- clinical governance leads
- clinical governance support staff
- national reporting organisations.
While this is a national report, each NHSScotland organisation involved has also received local feedback, which can be used to inform local development as well as informing the national picture.
The extensive information and recommendations contained within this report have played a significant part in the development of the action plan and work programme for the Clinical Governance and Patient Safety Support Unit. The findings have been used to develop a support framework that is based on identified needs.