By implementing the Clinical Governance Standard and the Partnering with Consumers Standard, your healthcare service will establish an individualised clinical governance framework. The systems and processes that form clinical governance framework can be used to implement the Clinical Safety Standard, which addresses risks to safety and quality commonly encountered.
This action requires healthcare services to apply the systems and processes developed when implementing the Clinical Governance Standard to each criterion described in the Clinical Safety Standard. This will ensure a consistent approach to managing safety and quality risks in the healthcare service.
Implementing policies and procedures for clinical safety
Policies and procedures written to address safety and quality risks should be developed and implemented in a way that is consistent with Action 1.02 Policies and procedures. That is:
- Policies and procedures aim to reduce or eliminate safety and quality risks in the healthcare service
- The workforce is supported to implement policies, procedures and protocols, including making them easily accessible
- A schedule is implemented to monitor, review and update policies and procedures using a risk management approach.
Policies and procedures must address clinical safety risks relevant to your healthcare service. Key clinical safety risks are described in the Clinical Safety Standard and include preventing and controlling infections, medication safety, comprehensive care, communicating for safety and recognising and responding to serious deterioration and harm.
Links to Action 1.02 Policies and procedures to actions in the Clinical Safety Standard
Managing risks associated with clinical safety
Risk management approaches to identify, analyse, evaluate and mitigate safety and quality risks that have been used to address clinical safety risks relevant to your healthcare service. Key clinical safety risks are described in the Clinical Safety Standard and include preventing and controlling infections, medication safety, comprehensive care, communicating for safety and recognising and responding to serious deterioration and harm.
Links to Action 1.04 Risk management to actions in the Clinical Safety Standard
Identifying training requirements to support clinical safety
All people who form part of your healthcare service’s workforce must understand their safety and quality roles in the context of your healthcare service. Orientation and access to training should occur on commencement to the service, whenever responsibilities change and when new services are introduced. The identification of training requirements should be consistent with Action 1.15 Safety and quality training and address the clinical safety risks relevant to your healthcare service. These include preventing and controlling infections, medication safety, comprehensive care, communicating for safety and recognising and responding to serious deterioration and harm.
Links to Actions 1.09 and 1.10 Patient populations and social determinants of health; 1.15 and 1.16 Safety and quality training; 1.17 Safety and quality roles and responsibilities; and 1.18 Evaluating performance to actions in the Clinical Safety Standard
