Address for Correspondence

Purpose The purpose of this Working Paper is to advance critical debate in relation to a very critical issue in current healthcare management – namely ‘patient safety’. This is currently a very high profile issue. In its various guises such as clinical governance, integrated governance and healthcare governance the question of avoiding or at least minimising harm to patients is attracting a huge amount of attention. Considerable resources especially within the acute sector are allocated to the problem. But, despite the systematic attention, progress in healthcare compared with certain other sectors is slow and mistakes continue to occur. Hospital acquired infections and clinical errors have become a matter of acute public concern. Evaluations of the health service are critically influenced by adverse judgements on this dimension of care. Approach In this article, we draw primarily upon relevant literature in order to make sense of our recent empirical research in 8 acute hospital trusts in the UK. The analysis, however, is relevant to healthcare systems around the world. Findings We reveal how the massive investment in systems, service improvement mechanisms and clinical government regimes may not in themselves be enough. One reason why they may not be enough is that there can be a problem of gaining acceptance and legitimacy. Staff may see such managers as ‘policing ’ and ‘interfering’. There is then the danger of a vicious circle – more control but less effective control because of a feeling of alienation. The policing element is at best a final safety net not the prompt for improvement. We then identify 6 barriers and each is accompanied by a recommendation for its resolution