Health care governance in the UK National Health Service

The NHS Plan sets out a challenging agenda for modernising the UK National Health Service (NHS), governing the organisation's performance and improving and extending service provision. Good health care governance is an essential prerequisite for all modernisation effort. This article will explore the responsibilities and implications for health care boards, managers and clinical staff in providing assurances for health care governance. Health care organisation directors, executive and non-executive, all share responsibility for the direction and control of the organisation. They are required to act in the best interest of the patients, staff and the general public and have statutory obligations to provide safe systems of work under the Health and Safety Regulations. Each director has a role in ensuring openness, being honest and acting with integrity, taking responsibility for their own personal learning and development, constructively challenge and develop strategy and ensuring the probity of the organisation's activities.