Promoting ownership in palliative care audit

Audit in health care is the systematic and critical analysis of the quality of care (Department of Health (DoH), 1989). Although not new to palliative care, it has been given fresh impetus in the UK through the introduction of clinical governance (DoH, 1998). Clinical governance has been described as:

‘a framework 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 excellence in clinical care will flourish’

(DoH, 1998)