Clinical Governance and Audit

Resource Overview

Clinical governance, including audit, is a key area in the delivery of a quality patient service. Clinical governance is a compulsory component of clinical delivery with which everyone in the NHS must engage, yet it is often something that healthcare professionals find confusing.

Generally, most of us understand the concepts of audit which revolves around the assessment of care against specific set standards. More recently, our practice can be compared with guidance suggested by institutions such as NICE. However, audit is just one component of the process of clinical governance, which also includes subjects such as critical incidents, case record review, mortality/morbidity review, clinical management and patient and public involvement.

This resource is designed to assess your knowledge of the process of clinical governance including audit and, on successful completion of the resource, you will be presented with a certificate of completion of one hour of continuous professional development.

Aims and Objectives

On completion of this resource, you will have an understanding of:

• How clinical audit helps fulfil many requirements of clinical governance.
• The components and implementation of clinical governance.
• How clinical governance contributes to quality of service delivery.