Expert Calls for National Implementation of Clinical Governance

Ugo Aliogo and Lawal Kehinde

The Lead Senior Fellow African Centre for Clinical Research and Patient Safety, Prof. Joseph Ana, has advocated for national implementation of the 12 Pillars of Clinical Governance, which promotes patient and family involvement in care, clinical audits, systematic quality programmes and accreditation amongst others, as solutions to address national healthcare challenges.

Ana, who was the conference keynote speaker at the Society for Quality in Healthcare in Nigeria (SQHN) 11th annual virtual conference, emphasised that the lack for basic necessities such as water, electricity and equipment in health facilities, were negatively impacting on patient safety.

He gave a detailed presentation and highlighted the need for focusing on the patients, supporting the healthcare workers and elevation of healthcare as a social service rather than a primary revenue source.

Former Minister for Health, Prof. Adenike Grange, laid emphasis on the need for political will and prioritization of the healthcare system by the healthcare policy makers.

During the conference panel discussion, Founder, Utopian Healthcare, Mrs. Chika Odioemene, recommended visionary leadership, patient-centered care, a motivated workforce and others for organisations willing to start off quality improvement. Dr. Adesoji Adetona of Synlab Nigeria explained the importance of measurement using data and key performance indicators to drive improvement.

The Improvement Advisor, Institute for Healthcare Improvement Dr. Emmanuel Aiyenigba, highlighted that scaling quality improvement and clinical governance efforts would require impacting cultural rules, laws and policies as well as replication of knowledge among the key stakeholders.

In his opening remarks, the President of the Society for Quality in Healthcare in Nigeria, Dr. Wole Abiodun-Wright, spoke about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic across the country and globally.