The Challenge

Governance and risk management are central to the core business of healthcare. Robust, effective systems of governance are essential to the raising of clinical standards and the improvement of operational efficiency. Well embedded systems increase patient satisfaction and forestall adverse media comment. Overall, this brings personal and professional satisfaction and heightens both individual and organisational morale.

The downside of complex governance is that when problems do arise, their root cause can be extremely difficult to identify because it is buried deep within the network of corporate governance and risk management systems.

This difficulty is compounded because risk management and performance are personal responsibilities and healthcare is a people industry. At least 70 different professions are involved in NHS healthcare provision; treatment is delivered by multidisciplinary teams through a complex web of individual and departmental relationships.

Problems within these relationships may cause even the most robust risk management and corporate/clinical governance arrangements to begin to collapse, with consequent adverse impacts on clinical standards and patient care.

The symptoms are only too easy to identify - the media do it all the time. Typical examples include:-

• a directorate is not meeting its targets;
  
• a clinician's relationship with colleagues is causing difficulties;
  
• inter-departmental conflict over resources has spilled over, causing waiting list issues;
  
• a clinician's performance is giving cause for concern;
  
• patients air their grievances in public.

These issues, which are often the symptoms of underlying, more complex problems, constitute some of the greatest challenges faced by senior professionals in healthcare management today.

It is at this stage where Iodem, with its roots in healthcare, comes into its own. It is uniquely equipped to diagnose the cause of the problem, treat it and work with management and staff to ensure it never recurs.