NHS trusts — quality < Influencers contents | Print this page The benefit of good human resources NHS influencers may like to know that NHS human resources are coming more and more into their own. It is of interest then that more evidence continues to accumulate that better HR in hospitals, as well as more doctors, could save lives. Research from Aston Business School suggests patient mortality rates at acute trusts with above average appraisal systems were some 4 per cent lower than average. Better outcomes have also been shown at the magnet hospitals in the US — so-called because good HR practices attract high quality staff — and US ideas surrounding health maintenance organisations (HMOs) are gaining greater popularity in the UK. There may be opportunities for NHS influencers in terms of developing offerings for acute trusts. Clinical governance In the area of clinical governance (where medicines would have an involvement), the National Audit Office has found that although 75 per cent of acute trusts in England can identify specific improvements in patient care that have grown out of clinical governance, the overall implementation of clinical governance remains patchy. This assessment of the impact of clinical governance shows that although areas like the reporting of adverse incidents and clinical risk management are in place in most trusts, areas such as patient involvement and knowledge management need to be addressed. The report also finds that too much external inspection of the NHS is hampering implementation of key clinical governance strategies. Also, the clinical governance support team, part of the Modernisation Agency, is underused. Opportunities here for NHS influencers? See Achieving improvements through clinical governance: a progress report on implementation by NHS trusts. Patient
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