Clinical audit is one of the processes the NHS has in place to aim to improve the quality of healthcare, by measuring current health services against previously agreed standards.
Clinical audit is all about the quality of care given to patients. It usually involves asking one or more of the following questions:
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Did the patient get better?
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Did the NHS give the best available treatment?
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Did the NHS deliver that treatment in the best possible way?
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Was the treatment and care provided in the best possible environment?
The clinical audit process aims to ensure that if the NHS needs to change the way it does things, the necessary changes recommended by the audit are carried out. After this, the situations is monitored to make sure healthcare is improved.
