Introducing an acute gynaecology dashboard as a new clinical governance tool

Abstract

Purpose

Risk management is an essential cornerstone of any effective unit. The maternity dashboard has been found to be an efficient governance tool, but there is no such scorecard in gynaecology. The paper aims to conceptualise and implement an acute gynaecology dashboard in a teaching hospital over a period of two years and review the changes brought in practice as a result of the dashboard.

Design/methodology/approach

This acute gynaecology dashboard was designed in line with the existing maternity dashboard. Goals and benchmarks were determined on the basis of available national guidelines, expert opinions and local policies. The dashboard was prospectively implemented, updated monthly and presented in the relevant forums. A retrospective overview of the changes brought in the practice is presented in this paper.

Findings

Through the use of the dashboard significant problems related to workforce, training and clinical activity were identified. A number of changes were subsequently executed to improve patient management, service provision and training. This paper provides empirical insights about how positive changes in clinical practice could be brought in by the implementation of the acute gynaecology dashboard. The acute gynaecology dashboard was found to be a valuable governance tool to monitor performance and improve training and patient care.

Practical implications

The acute gynaecology dashboard can be used as an effective clinical governance tool to monitor performance and leads to improvement in clinical practice in other acute gynaecology units.

Originality/value

Though the maternity dashboard is widely in use, there has been no previous description of an acute gynaecology dashboard and this is the first paper in this area. With the increasing demand of acute gynaecology services, the dashboard becomes an essential tool for clinical governance.

Citation

Guha, S., Hoo, W.P. and Bottomley, C. (2013), "Introducing an acute gynaecology dashboard as a new clinical governance tool", Clinical Governance: An International Journal, Vol. 18 No. 3, pp. 228-237. https://doi.org/10.1108/CGIJ-10-2012-0036