Action 1.06

Strong leadership can drive safety and quality improvements, and make them a priority. Commitment from leaders is important, because their actions and attitudes influence the perceptions, attitudes and behaviours of the workforce.¹

Define the delegated safety and quality roles and responsibilities of clinical leaders. These may include implementing strategic direction, managing the operation of the clinical governance system, reporting on safety and quality, and implementing the organisation’s safety culture.

Clinical leaders may support other clinicians by:

• Supervising relevant members of the clinical workforce
• Conducting performance appraisals or peer reviews
• Reviewing safety and quality performance data within their unit and comparing these data with units of similar size
• Ensuring that the workforce understands the clinical governance system.

Strategies to achieve this may include:

• Providing safety and quality training for clinicians
• Ensuring that the workforce has access to information about their expected roles and responsibilities for safety and quality, and the operation of the clinical governance framework
• Clearly documenting the reporting lines and relationships for safety and quality performance
• Conducting performance appraisals and auditing clinical practice to ensure that clinicians operate within the clinical governance framework
• Reviewing clinical audit results and taking action to deal with any issues identified.

Examples of evidence

Select only examples currently in use:

• Policy documents that outline the delegated safety and quality roles and responsibilities of clinical leaders
• Employment documents that describe the safety and quality roles and responsibilities of clinical leaders
• Documented workforce performance appraisals that include feedback to clinical leaders on the performance of safety and quality roles and responsibilities
• Training documents relating to workforce safety and quality roles and responsibilities
• Results of clinical audits of clinicians’ performance under the clinical governance framework
• Documented results of clinical audits and actions taken to deal with any identified issues.

Strong leadership can drive safety and quality improvements, and make them a priority. Commitment from leaders is important, because their actions and attitudes influence the perceptions, attitudes and behaviours of the workforce.¹

Define the delegated safety and quality roles and responsibilities of clinical leaders. These may include implementing strategic direction, managing the operation of the clinical governance system, reporting on safety and quality, and implementing the organisation’s safety culture.

Clinical leaders may support the clinical workforce by:

• Supervising relevant members of the clinical workforce
• Conducting performance appraisals or peer reviews
• Reviewing safety and quality performance data within the organisation
• Ensuring that the workforce understands the clinical governance system.

Strategies to achieve this may include:

• Providing safety and quality training for clinicians
• Ensuring that the workforce has access to information about their expected roles and responsibilities for safety and quality, and the operation of the clinical governance framework
• Clearly documenting the reporting lines and relationships for safety and quality performance
• Conducting performance appraisals and auditing clinical practice to ensure that clinicians operate within the clinical governance framework
• Reviewing clinical audit results and taking action to deal with any issues identified.

Day procedure services should ensure that all members of the clinical workforce understand and perform their safety and quality roles and responsibilities, including credentialed medical and other practitioners and nurses.

Examples of evidence

Select only examples currently in use:

• Policy documents that outline the delegated safety and quality roles and responsibilities of clinical leaders
• Employment documents that describe the safety and quality roles and responsibilities of clinical leaders
• Documented workforce performance appraisals that include feedback to clinical leaders on the performance of safety and quality roles and responsibilities
• Training documents relating to workforce safety and quality roles and responsibilities.

Strong leadership can drive safety and quality improvements, and make them a priority. Commitment from leaders is important, because their actions and attitudes influence the perceptions, attitudes and behaviours of the workforce.¹

Clinical leaders may support the clinical workforce by:

• Supervising relevant members of the clinical workforce
• Conducting performance appraisals or peer reviews
• Reviewing safety and quality performance data within the organisation
• Ensuring that the workforce understands the clinical governance system.

Strategies to achieve this may include:

• Providing safety and quality training for clinicians
• Ensuring that the workforce has access to information about their expected roles and responsibilities for safety and quality, and the operation of the clinical governance framework
• Clearly documenting the reporting lines and relationships for safety and quality performance
• Conducting performance appraisals and auditing clinical practice to ensure that clinicians operate within the clinical governance framework
• Reviewing clinical audit results and taking action to deal with any issues identified
• Reporting audit findings to the governing body.

Examples of evidence

Select only examples currently in use:

• Policy documents that outline the delegated safety and quality roles and responsibilities of clinical leaders
• Employment documents that describe the safety and quality roles and responsibilities of clinical leaders
• Documented workforce performance appraisals that include feedback to clinical leaders on the performance of safety and quality roles and responsibilities
• Training documents relating to workforce safety and quality roles and responsibilities
• Results of clinical audits of clinicians’ performance under the clinical governance framework
• Documented results of clinical audits and actions taken to deal with any identified issues.