Clinical governance: the challenge at practice level

Abstract

The aim of this article is to look at the introduction of clinical governance in primary care and what this may mean to members of the primary health care team. There are many different definitions and ideas of clinical governance but these are often unclear and rather vague. The RCN's definition is clear, concise and emphasizes that effective patient care is at the centre of the whole ethos of clinical governance: Clinical governance is a framework or structure which helps all clinicians improve quality and safeguard standards of care continuously (RCN, 1998). Julie Feeney considers how the tenets of clinical governance will translate into practice