17 June 2005
Safeguards to protect NHS patients in Scotland are 'more robust and coherent' than at any time in the history of the service, a public sector watchdog has concluded.
A report by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland says the processes designed to monitor performance, streamline decision-making and protect the quality of care have never been stronger.
It claims the issue is at the top of the health service agenda, with senior managers leading from the front by taking direct responsibility for ensuring the system works.
The report follows checks on 22 health boards in response to a drop in public confidence in the health service, and it makes a series of recommendations on the way forward.
It concludes that a significant culture change is taking place within the health service in the wake of high-profile medical incidents that have shaken public confidence. These include the organ retention scandals in Bristol and Liverpool.
NHS QIS looked at three issues: clinical governance (the processes used to ensure care is safe and effective); single-system working (the removal of old organisational barriers); and risk management (the identification, management and reduction of risks in clinical care).
NHS QIS chair Lord Naren Patel said: 'Until recently, the public took it for granted that the care provided by the NHS was safe, effective and of high quality. Confidence has been shaken and the public now wants to be informed about risks and options and to be involved in making decisions about their care. What our report has found is that the health service is putting its house in order and NHS Scotland is putting in place more robust and coherent safeguards of the quality of patient care than at any time in the history of the service.'
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