Intended for use by both commissioners and providers of healthcare, it has a broad focus. Many measures have now been developed for palliative care, although none are perfect, and these are reviewed in this document. No single measure is recommended, but there are several which are sufficiently tested and could be used locally. This report aims to promote high quality research in hospice and specialist palliative care, and to encourage all those working in this field to improve the quality of care through the application of research findings. Research in health care can involve any discipline and includes clinical research, health services research, sociological and health psychology research, epidemiological research and economic evaluation.
Advice is given for researchers on ethical, methodological and practical issues.
The manual includes guidance on cost allocation and sample worksheet layouts. Clinical Governance for Voluntary Hospices Occasional Paper 18. This guidance provides practical advice for trustees, managers and all clinical and professional staff. It begins by examining how clinical governance is defined in the NHS and then goes on to describe how its principles may be applied with benefit to voluntary sector hospices. It defines the essential components of clinical governance and puts forward a recommended action plan for its introduction.