Introduction

Clinical governance was implemented in the United Kingdom in the late 1990s as a direct response to a string of high-profile healthcare scandals that exposed significant shortcomings in the quality and safety of healthcare delivery. Because of the media’s exposure, these scandals came to light. Its goals were to build a systematic approach to managing clinical risk, promote a culture of outstanding patient care, and ensure that healthcare organisations were accountable for the treatment they delivered (Brown et al., 2022). These goals were intended to improve the quality and safety of healthcare. Since it was first implemented, clinical governance has effectively enhanced the quality and safety of healthcare delivery. It has decreased the frequency of unfortunate occurrences, improved patient outcomes, and increased patient contentment with the care they receive. Additionally, clinical governance has assisted in enhancing the quality of clinical decision-making, promoting the utilisation of evidence-based practice, and encouraging ongoing quality enhancement.

However, physicians, patients, managers, and governing bodies must consistently commit to and support clinical governance to remain effective. To ensure that clinical governance systems are relevant and practical, clinicians must be involved in their creation and execution (Brown et al., 2022). Patients should have a voice in healthcare decisions and be provided with details regarding the quality and safety of the treatments they will receive. For doctors to offer high-quality treatment, managers must give them the resources and support they need, and regulatory bodies must hold healthcare institutions to account for the quality of their services.

Healthcare delivery is held to a higher standard of responsibility when clinical governance is in place. It is a crucial part of the healthcare system since it helps doctors, administrators, and policymakers give patients the best possible care. This article will use a case study from a clinical placement to discuss the significance of clinical governance in nursing care. There will also be talk about the positive effects of safety culture on patients and employees and how the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards (NSQHS) help nurses meet governance requirements.

This paper will also address the impact of clinical governance on nursing care and the significance of meeting NSQHS benchmarks for positive patient outcomes. The paper will also examine how effective leadership and a safety-first culture affect employee morale, patient outcomes, and resource allocation. The overarching goal of this essay is to show how clinical governance affects the quality and safety of nursing care and healthcare services as a whole.

Clinical Governance Influences on Nursing Care

Safe, effective, and continuously improving patient care is the goal of clinical governance, a framework of accountability, monitoring, and quality improvement processes (Queensland Government, 2021). Clinical governance affects nursing care by fostering a culture of safety and continuous improvement, fostering a collaborative and coordinated approach to patient care, and ensuring that nurses possess the necessary knowledge and skills.

Ensuring nurses have the information and skills necessary to provide safe and effective care is one-way clinical governance affect nursing. The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care’s (2015) Clinical Governance Standard includes provisions for regularly assessing and updating the qualifications of nurses and midwives. This makes it so nurses may deliver treatment founded on scientific data and current best practices.

Improving patient outcomes is a top priority for healthcare companies, and clinical governance helps foster a safety culture. Patient satisfaction with nursing care was positively connected with a culture of safety in the healthcare organisation, according to research by Karaca and Durna (2019). This demonstrates the significance of clinical governance in establishing a norm of putting the patient’s safety first and holding all staff members accountable for maintaining it. Clinical governance has consequences for nursing staffing numbers and enhancing patient outcomes. Staffing must be adequate to satisfy patients’ demands, and nurses must be energised and energised, according to the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards (2017). This is vital for guaranteeing patient safety and nurses’ ability to provide high-quality treatment.

Finally, clinical governance guarantees that doctors work together to provide excellent patient treatment. Goh and Loh (2019) stress the value of teamwork among medical staff in providing excellent patient treatment. Effective collaboration betwee