Integrating clinical governance

After more than 40 years of growing recognition and acceptance, patient partnerships in health care are now viewed as integral to improving outcomes for patients. Patient partnerships are also a pillar of person-centred care – that is, care that is respectful of, and responsive to, the preferences, needs and values of the individual patient. 

There is growing acceptance that practices that support partnerships at the level of the individual – from communication and structured listening, through to shared decision making, self-management support and care planning – can improve the safety and quality of health care, improve patient outcomes and experience, and improve the performance of healthcare services.^[i]

As with any other quality improvement process, patient partnerships should be monitored and their impact evaluated and refined. 

This action requires healthcare services to use the systems established in the Clinical Governance Standard to partner with consumers.

Links to Actions 1.02 Policies and procedures, 1.03 Measurement and quality improvement and 1.04 Risk management

• How does your healthcare service partner with consumers? 
• What policies and procedures exist and how are they used to support partnering with consumers? 
• How are risks associated with partnering with consumers identified and managed? 
• What training has been provided to the workforce to support partnering with consumers?

• Set up and implement structures to enable partnering with consumers.
• Identify key principles or documents that underpin how the healthcare service partners with consumers.
• Use risk management systems to identify, monitor, manage and review risks associated with partnering with consumers.
• Deliver or provide access to training on partnering with consumers based on the specific needs of the workforce.

The type and comprehensiveness of evidence used is dependent on each healthcare service context. The content and complexity of the policies and processes will likely depend on the size of the healthcare service, but could include:

• Policies and procedures that are implemented and cover
  •  healthcare rights
  •  informed consent 
  •  shared decision making and planning care
  •  health literacy and effective communication with patients, carers, families and consumers 
  •  partnering with consumers in service design 
• Feedback sought through surveys, verbally or through the healthcare service’s website 
• Resources available to support consumer participation
• Observation of the workforce using the processes for partnering with consumers
• Evidence of the assessment of workforce needs for education and training in relation to partnering with consumers
• Feedback from the workforce about their training needs to support partnering with consumers
• Schedule of workforce education and training that includes partnering with consumers
• Documentation or examples of how consumer feedback, including complaints, has been used to inform workforce training and changes in systems and processes 
• Feedback from consumers, consumer representatives, consumer organisations and carers on their experience of engaging with the healthcare service
• Examples of any risks the service may have identified that prevents consumers from engaging with the service and the actions taken.

Commission resource

Partnering with Consumers – partnering with consumers is about actively working with people who use the healthcare system to ensure that care is safe, high-quality and meets their needs.