Association between use of clinical governance systems at the frontline and patient safety: a pre-post study

Purpose To investigate the association between implementation of clinical governance and patient safety. Design/methodology/approach A pre-post study was conducted in an Australian health service following the implementation of clinical governance systems (CGS) in the inpatient wards in 2016. Health service audit data from 2017 on CGS implementation and the rate of adverse patient safety events (PSE) for 2015 (pre-implementation) and 2017 (post-implementation), across 45 wards in six hospitals were collected. CGS examined compliance with 108 variables, based on the Australian National Safety and Quality Health Service standards. Patient safety was measured as PSE per 100 bed days. Data were analysed using odds ratios to explore the association between patient safety and CGS percentage compliance score. Findings There was no change in PSE between 2015 and 2017 (MD 0.04 events/100 bed days, 95% CI -0.11 to 0.21). There were higher odds that wards with a CGS score >90% reported reduced PSE, compared to wards with lower compliance. The domains of leadership and culture, risk management and clinical practice had the strongest association with the reduction in PSE. Practical implications Given that wards with a CGS score >90% showed increased odds of reduced PSE health service boards need to put in place strategies that engage frontline managers and staff to facilitate full implementation of clinical governance systems for patient safety. Originality/value The findings provide evidence that implementation of all facets of CGS in a large public health service is associated with improved patient safety.