Clinical Governance Advice

Clinical governance was defined by the Department of Health as the system through which NHS organisations are accountable for continuously improving the quality of their services and safeguarding high standards of care by creating an environment in which clinical excellence will flourish.

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This guidance is produced by the Guidelines Committee.

The aim is to give details of governance strategies that safeguard standards of care and that will assist healthcare professionals in discharging their clinical responsibilities.

For any enquiries about the Clinical Governance Advice documents, please email clinicaleffectiveness@rcog.org.uk.

Clinical Governance Advice

Obtaining Valid Consent to Participate in Perinatal Research Where Consent is Time Critical (Clinical Governance Advice No. 6a)

This document provides a good practice framework for obtaining consent for participation in research during labour or immediately postpartum.

Development of RCOG Green-top Guidelines (Clinical Governance Advice No. 1)

This guidance has been archived.

Please see the RCOG handbook Developing a Green-top Guideline: Guidance for developers (PDF 2.4mb) for how to develop a Green-top Guideline.

Obtaining Valid Consent (Clinical Governance Advice No. 6)

This guidance was archived on 11 January 2024.

Please see Professional standards for doctors Decision making and consent, produced by the General Medical Council, and other useful resources listed in the RCOG Consent section.

Obtaining Valid Consent for Complex Gynaecological Surgery (Clinical Governance Advice No. 6b)

This guidance was archived on 19 April 2024.

Please see Professional standards for doctors Decision making and consent, produced by the General Medical Council, and other useful resources listed in the RCOG Consent section.

Development of RCOG Green-top Guidelines: Consensus Methods for Adaptation of RCOG Green-top Guidelines (Clinical Governance Advice No. 1d)

This document outlines tools that can be used to adapt RCOG Green-top Guidelines, and other guidelines.

Improving Patient Safety: Risk Management for Maternity and Gynaecology (Clinical Governance Advice No. 2)

This guidance was archived on 3 November 2022.

Presenting Information on Risk (Clinical Governance Advice No. 7)

This guidance was archived on 11 January 2024.

Please see Decision making and consent: The dialogue leading to a decision, produced by the General Medical Council, and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence resources and guidance on Shared Decision Making.

Understanding Audit (Clinical Governance Advice No. 5)

This guidance was archived on 3 November 2022.

Please see guidance produced by the Health Quality Improvement Partnership: A guide to quality improvement tools and Clinical audit: a guide for NHS boards and partners.