Risk management in practice: how are we managing?

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Risk Management in Nursing
• Clinical Governance

Background:

• Effective risk management is essential in acute healthcare settings.
• Understanding nurse managers' perceptions and involvement is key to improving patient safety.
• Neonatal care presents unique challenges requiring robust risk assessment and mitigation strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess awareness and involvement in risk assessments, training, incident reporting, and consent processes.
• To explore nurse managers' perceptions of risk management in neonatal care.
• To determine the perceived role of advanced neonatal nurse practitioners in risk management activities.

Main Methods:

• A postal survey was conducted among 62 nurse managers and clinical specialists in UK National Health Service (NHS) Trusts.
• The survey focused on neonatal nursing care services.
• Data collection targeted awareness and involvement in specific risk management components.

Main Results:

• Nurse managers demonstrated a general understanding of risk management but were vague on specific aspects.
• Their engagement in disseminating and advancing risk management strategies appeared passive rather than proactive.
• Perceptions of the role of advanced neonatal nurse practitioners in risk management were explored.

Conclusions:

• Clinical governance challenges necessitate more proactive managerial behavior to drive change.
• Enhanced engagement is required to demonstrate and support ongoing clinical quality improvements in healthcare.
• Future strategies should focus on empowering nurse managers to actively promote risk management initiatives.