Navigating and understanding clinical governance and risk management in maternity

An understanding of clinical governance and risk management is essential for a career in obstetrics and gynaecology. In a stressed and struggling system, knowing where and how to improve our maternity services is crucial in order to keep our patients safe. This article outlines the principles of clinical governance with a focus on risk management; it provides insight as to how this is managed and implemented within NHS trusts. We will look at how just culture and systems-based learning determine the effectiveness of both, and we will demonstrate how this is used by external governing bodies to judge the safety of maternity units. Only through robust clinical governance structures is the NHS able to ensure that it learns from mistakes and evolves to safeguard future patients and its workforce. Knowledge of the inner workings of these structures is important for examination preparation, any job interview, and for providing responsible and safe care to patients as a clinician.