Clinical Governance

Sound clinical governance runs through all of the caring activities that Harmoni undertakes. This is embodied in our “Clinical Spine” which is made up of five Medical Directors. The members of the Clinical Spine have been dedicated to patient care for more than 10 years.

The “islands” that defined much of historical patterns of healthcare often had robust, if somewhat parochial governance systems in place. They were parochial in the sense that the clinical governance systems of one organisation rarely made reference to the so-called “separate” governance systems of other healthcare organisations.

Demands for the Department of Health, the drives for better, more consistent patient journeys through the modern health care system and the increasing levels of cross-system integration mean clinical governance must be approached in new, highly methodical and co-operative ways.

Harmoni ensures that each of its local operations has a Medical Director responsible for Clinical Governance in place (who is invariably a general practitioner). We work with local commissioners, other stakeholders / partners and patient groups to develop a clinical governance system that is acceptable to, and understood, by all. And because Harmoni operates nationally and across various localities, our local Clinical Governance Directors are able to bring new examples of “best practice” in clinical governance to the early and prompt attention of local governance groups to facilitate discussion and further investigation.

Harmoni has supported the development of thinking in the field of governance. For instance, in 2004 we commissioned the Healthcare Foundation, at that time headed by Dr David Carson (the author of the “OOH Review”), to review advanced Clinical Governance models in the new world of OOH and urgent care. More recently, we have worked with the Primary Care Foundation, an independent organisation that works with a variety of out of hours and primary care organisations, to review and benchmark our systems and service levels as part of our commitment to governance and improved patient care.