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THE ROLE OF THE COURT The question has arisen regarding the circumstances in England in which clinical decisions relating to withdrawal of 5 treatment should be automatically referred to the court. Mr Y was an active man in his fifties when he had a cardiac arr...

TRANSPLANTATION The law and ethics of organ transplantation require more space than this chapter allows. In common with other nations, the UK has a statutory framework for transplantation, but even among this small group of nations there is no unanimity of l...

CLINICAL OUTCOMES, AUDIT AND IMPROVEMENT tients Clinical audit, a function of clinical governance, is the means by which the health care being provided is compared with accepted standards. It allows care providers and patients to know how their service is doi...

COMMUNICATION Professional behaviour and maintaining fitness to practice Professionalism is an important component of patient safety . This embraces attitudes and behaviours that serve the patient’s best interests above and beyond other considerations. Organ i...

Checklists Checklists in the operating theatre environment are now accepted as standard safety protocols since the Safe Surgery Saves Lives Study Group at WHO published its results. The use of a perioperative surgical safety checklist in eight hospitals aroun...

Clinical microsystems A clinical microsystem is an interdependent quality improvement unit made up of a small group of people who work together, usually on a regular basis, to provide care. Such groups are typically multidisciplinary . The patients who recei...

Communicating openly with patients and their carers and obtaining consent A patient-centred approach by medical sta ff , with involvement of patients and their carers as partners, is now recognised as being of fundamental importance. There are better treatment...

HUMAN FACTORS The healthcare setting has become increasingly complex. Patient and societal demands for transparency in defining and justifying treatment decisions impact on all healthcare workers, who need to understand their professional responsibilities when ...

Hospital level Clinical governance Patient safety requires a team approach. Many national and international bodies, professional organisations and medical and academic health centres now realise the importance of leadership training. Motivated and well-prepare...