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Clinical indicators are tools used to monitor important processes in the clinical care of patients. They have been used extensively in other areas of medicine [1]. They aim to improve quality [2] and promote uniformity in patient care [3]. The Australian Council on Health Care Standards incorporates clinical indicators into its accreditation pro-gramme through a ‘continuum of care ’ model [4]. A clinical indicator is used within a cycle of quality improvement. The cycle contains a number of steps: (i) the clinical indicator is defined, and a threshold mark-ing adequate performance is established; (ii) the indica-tor is measured over a period of time; (iii) the indicator is reviewed in reference to the threshold; (iv) if there is consistent failure to reach the threshold, an action is pro-posed to improve this component of service delivery