Quality Improvement

Improving quality and safety - progress in implementing clinical governance in primary care: lessons for the new Primary Care Trusts
The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee has published a report on quality and safety in primary care. The report makes the following statements:
1. PCTs do not routinely include outcome measures for quality and safety in their commissioning arrangements.
2. One of the areas particularly associated with improving quality and safety was effective clinical leadership, yet members of PCTs’ Professional and Executive Committees often lacked effective leadership skills.
3. Not all GPs understand the concept of clinical governance and how it relates to their day to day work.
4. Patient and public involvement is less well developed than other aspects of clinical governance.
5. Of the 14 voluntary groups surveyed by the National Audit Office, all felt that PCTs could engage more effectively with their client groups.
6. Patients in primary care are often unclear about how to complain or how their complaints will be dealt with, whilst staff are not always informed of the outcome.
7. Only 4% of GPs report untoward events and clinical incidents to the National Patient Safety Agency’s National Reporting and Learning System resulting in limited sharing of learning either locally or nationally.
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