Most government and government-funded mental health services will have a clinical governance framework (or similar) that guides their operations. Increasingly, non-clinical services that support vulnerable people are investing in developing clinical governance processes.
At its core, clinical governance aims to create a system that enables excellent care, which is something all organisation that support people are interested in.
All Accoras client-facing services work to our Clinical Governance Framework. The Framework led to the development of the Accoras Clinical Governance Council, which is available to provide support and guidance to all parts of the business (including our mental health, child protection and employment programs).
In practice, this means a staff member that is facing a complex client situation, is managing a critical incident, or is worried about risk to a person or a community, they can access not just their line manager or supervisor, but a group of experienced multidisciplinary professionals.
The Clinical Governance Council has the capacity to analyse the situation from multiple angles, review the relevant evidence base, consider ethical implications, and then make a recommendation and support implementation. This level of support means team leaders and managers are never left alone with challenging decisions, and our clients and communities receive the best possible support.
For more information on Accoras and the Clinical Governance Council, visit - https://www.accoras.com.au/.
About the Author
Suzie Lewis is the General Manager for Strategy, Innovation and Research at Accoras. She holds a Master of Clinical Psychology and a Master of Perinatal and Infant Mental Health, and helped develop and implement the Accoras Clinical Governance Framework.
1Gray, C. What is clinical governance. BMJ 2005;330:s254.