Quality and safety team
The CMO is in overall strategic control of the quality and safety system which is designed to ensure that sites, and the service lines within them, can be held accountable for their quality using data that is as valid and reliable as possible. The director of quality and safety reports to the CMO and is responsible for the effective operation of the central quality and safety team.
The team has three functions:
- Compliance management: a team of four compliance managers visit each site at least twice a year to carry out a full audit against the minimum standards of the Care Quality Commission (CQC), health and safety and environmental health regulations. They review evidence and report on every standard. They are also available for advice to hospital directors needing to make improvements. They revisit as necessary to ensure the required improvements have been carried out.
- Policy and regulation: a central group that ensures that all Priory policies are reviewed regularly, remain current and that they are compatible with national guidance.
- Clinical risk management: a group that investigates complaints that have not been resolved at hospital level, and undertakes reviews of more serious SUIs, liaising as necessary with the company insurers and legal advisers.
At site level, each has a manager who is registered by the CQC and is accountable for all site activity including quality.