RCP Department - Clinical Standards Department

Our vision is to improve patient care by the setting, monitoring and implementation of clinical standards. To achieve this we:

• provide leadership and support to RCP fellows, members and the teams and organisations in which they work to deliver the highest standards of clinical practice and so the highest standards in patient care
• aim to be the first 'port of call' for advice and information on clinical standard, setting, measurement and interpretation, and implementation across physician medicine

Our strategic objectives are:

• to identify and define standards relevant to clinical work of physicians to ensure a foundation for good patient care
• to measure and evaluate the implementation of standards and the impact on patient care
• to encourage and engage physicians in the use of tools and information to implement these standards effectively to improve patient care.

The Department brings together the valuable experience and knowledge of the Clinical Effectiveness and Evaluation Unit (CEEU), the Health Informatics Unit (HIU), the Health and Work Development Unit (HWDU), Accreditation Unit and the Revalidation Programme. The department is self-funding, securing commissions and grants, often via competitive tendering processes, from numerous organisations including the Department of Health.

We are qualified and experienced healthcare professionals, researchers, project managers and statisticians working to ensure best practice and evidence-based approaches to care area developed, widely disseminated and implemented to benefit patients. We adopt a multi professional collaborative approach to our work, with a commitment to involving patients in all our activities.

To support clinicians and their employers in improving the quality of patient healthcare, we:

• offer advice and information on clinical standard setting, measurement through audit, interpretation of results and support to plan and implement improvements
• provide guidance on standards of medical practice and the types of evidence required for appraisal and revalidation
• help clinicians use our tools and information, in order to implement standards effectively to improve patient care
• advise clinicians on the current quality improvement activities and initiatives undertaken by the RCP

Clinical audit reports: We aim to ensure that our audit reports meet the needs of our audiences by supporting them in achieving quality improvement. Consequently, we recently conducted a research project to inform the development of future audit reports. The results provided some valuable feedback and insight and are now influencing how future reports will be presented.  The Report can be accessed below.

Collaborative working: We always work in partnership with healthcare organisations and government departments, both in the UK and internationally, and with a range of patient groups. These include Specialist Societies, Departments of Health in England and Wales, Health Foundation, HQIP (Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership), NICE (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence), NHS Litigation Authority and the NHS Information Standards Board for Health.

We encourage RCP members and fellows to get involved with our wide-ranging quality improvement work. We are keen to work with clinicians who are passionate about delivering the highest quality care for their patients.

To get a full understanding of our work programme, why not sign up to receive our Clinical Standards Newsletter – send an email to: clinical.standards@rcplondon.ac.uk with ‘Newsletter’ in the subject box.

Contact Details

Jane Ingham
Director of Clinical Standards
Tel: +44 (0)20 3075 1333
Email: jane.ingham@rcplondon.ac.uk

Linda Patterson
Clinical Vice-President
Tel: +44 (0)20 3075 1544
Email: linda.patterson@rcplondon.ac.uk

Clinical Standards Department
Royal College of Physicians
11 St Andrews Place
Regent’s Park
London NW1 4LE
Tel: +44 (0)20 3075 1263
Fax: +44 (0)20 7487 3988
Email: clinical.standards@rcplondon.ac.uk

Clinical Standards Newsletter April 2013