Professor Kathy Rowan, Programme Director at the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), has written to our Chief Executive, Dr Ian Gargan, formally confirming his position as a member of the steering committee for the Health and Social Care Delivery Research (HSDR) Project: NIHR135108 – Quality, safety and clinical governance in NHS and independent hospitals.
The project which started in March, is led by researchers at the University of Manchester and the University of York, and funded by the NIHR. The project team is looking into:
- the quality and safety of patient care in NHS and independent hospitals
- the way that systems for overseeing clinical care and sharing information work in practice.
Ian said: “The formal recognition of my role representing the PHIN team on this important project is welcome. The data PHIN collects from the UK’s independent hospitals can help to fill out the picture of the healthcare system and the care patients receive.
“Every patient has the right to expect safe, high-quality care wherever they are treated, and this research will help progress understanding and allow improvements in quality and safety in NHS and independent hospitals.
“On the project, we are examining the ‘clinical governance’ used to oversee the quality and safety of patient care. The Paterson inquiry highlighted the need for this sort of research.
“Projects such as this one, and our work on ADAPt with NHS England, are a valuable part of our work to make healthcare more transparent and accessible to patients, so that they can make more informed decisions.”
