Clinical governance

Our clinical governance framework includes a set of guidelines and principles on how clinical governance reporting across Bupa is to be undertaken based on six 'pillars'.

Our clinical governance audit programme

Bupa launched its clinical governance audit programme in 2011 to systematically monitor the various elements of clinical governance, within Bupa businesses to help ensure that standards are being met and maintained. The quality assurance programme is in turn audited by Bupa's Internal Audit team.

Clinical quality reporting 

As part of the clinical governance reporting framework, four core clinical quality indicators were developed at the end of 2010 to promote consistency in reporting across the Bupa Group. The set of core indicators that span across all businesses are:

1. Clinical complaints
2. Serious adverse incidents
3. Clinical incidents
4. Patient experience

Reporting of clinical quality indicators serves two main purposes: to provide transparency of information; and to inform quality improvement initiatives.

Clinical information governance

Bupa's clinical information governance team has responsibility for defining and overseeing a framework to encourage and support all Bupa businesses to meet the highest standards for protecting the confidentiality of person-identifiable data.

The global rollout of the Bupa IG Toolkit (IGT) provides a consistent framework for each Bupa business to report on IG assurance activities and demonstrate responsibilities and accountabilities for effective handling of personal information about patients/clients/residents and employees.

Group-wide roll out of the Bupa IG Toolkit is the responsibility of the Clinical Information Governance Steering Committee. The steering committee is accountable to the Bupa IG Executive Committee, which reports to the Chief Executive Committee, and to the Bupa Medical Advisory Panel (see explanation below). It is also responsible for monitoring continuous improvement in IG assurance management across the group, with a particular focus on the clinical information and secondary use assurance initiatives.

The long-term goal for IG is to implement in full the Bupa IG Toolkit across all businesses by 2012 as part of a strategic objective to demonstrate Bupa's credentials as a safe and trusted custodian of valid and accurate health and care data.

Health content governance

Bupa's global health content standards were introduced in August 2010 to ensure we are providing relevant, readable, reliable health information for our customers throughout the world. The standards require that our health content is legal, not misleading, substantiable, consistent, and has been approved by the medical director or appropriately trained medical delegate.

Medical Advisory Panel

Clinical excellence is at the heart of Bupa's business and clinical oversight is provided by a group of clinical experts who sit on the Medical Advisory Panel. 

The stated purpose of the panel is to provide clinical governance to Bupa, specifically:    

"to advise the Bupa Board on issues facing the Group relating to professional standards, quality of care and clinical governance; the development of Bupa's medical policy; external oversight and assurance of Bupa's clinical governance arrangements; and the building of positive and productive relationships with the clinical professions"*

The panel is chaired by the Medical Non-Executive Board member and comprises of members of the Bupa Board of Directors including the Chief Executive and the Company Director, the Bupa Group Medical Director, independent registered medical practitioners practicing in fields not already represented on the Panel and an independent registered nurse.

Meetings are held at least three times a year, including a full annual review of Bupa's clinical governance and the endorsement of the Group Medical Director's Annual Report each year.

Membership of the Panel

In addition to Bupa's Group Medical Director, Dr Andrew Vallance-Owen, the panellists are:

Professor SirJohn Tooke MA, MSc, BM, BCh, DM, DSc(Oxon), FRCP, FRCPI, FRCGP(Hon), FAcadMed (Hon), FMedSci (Chairman)

Sir John is Vice Provost (Health) of University College Hospital's School of Life and Medical Sciences as well as head of the University's Medical School. Previously, he was dean of the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, a joint initiative between the Universities of Plymouth and Exeter. 

Among his many roles, Sir John is President-elect of the Academy of Medical Sciences; a member of the National Institute for Health Research Advisory Board, the UK's National Health Service Evidence Advisory Board and the Health and Education National Strategic Exchange (HENSE). In 2006, Sir John led a high level group for the UK's Chief Medical Officer on Overcoming Barriers to Clinical Effectiveness and in 2008 he chaired the Independent Inquiry into Modernising Medical Careers, leading to the publication of 'Aspiring to Excellence'. 

Rt Hon Virginia Bottomley DL

As well as serving as a non-Executive Director of Bupa, Baroness Bottomley chairs the Board and Chief Executive Practice of executive search firm, Odgers Berndtson. Virginia was a member of the House of Commons from 1984 to 2005 serving successively as Secretary of State for Health and National Heritage (now Culture, Media and Sport) under John Major. She was appointed a Life Peer in 2005. 

Lady Bottomley has a wealth of experience gained over 30 years with a number of organisations in the commercial, voluntary and public sectors. She continues to hold a number of wide-ranging roles, including as a Trustee of The Economist Newspaper, Chancellor of the University of Hull, Pro Chancellor of the University of Surrey and Governor of the London School of Economics. 

She is a member of the UK Advisory Council of the International Chamber of Commerce and the House of Lords.

Professor Tar-Ching Aw MBSS, PhD, FFOM, FRCP, FFPHM

Prof Tar-Ching Aw is currently the head of the Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates. In addition to numerous academic posts across the world, Prof Aw was previously British Council consultant on occupational health to the Government of Malaysia, WHO consultant to Kuwait, and ILO consultant in Geneva.

He was chair of a European expert group that published a document on the diagnosis of occupational diseases, and he is currently a member of the UK Health and Safety Executive's Working Group on Action to Control Chemicals (WATCH).

Mr A D Clayson MB, ChB, FRCS, FRCSOrth

Mr Clayson is a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at North Manchester General Hospital. He has specialist expertise in the areas of hip surgery, sports injury and sports medicine, as well as specialist clinical interests in joint replacements, ligament reconstruction, lower limb disorders and osteotomy of the young adult. 

Professor Martin McKee CBE MSc MD FRCP FRCPI, FFPHM

Martin McKee is Professor of European Public Health at the Health Services Research Unit at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, where he co-directs the European Centre on Health of Societies in Transition (ECOHOST), a WHO Collaborating Centre. 

Among his many other roles, he is research director of the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies and editor of the European Journal of Public Health and a member of numerous editorial boards, as well as being an editorial consultant to the Lancet. He is a member of the UK Academy of Medical Sciences, the Romanian Academy of Medical Sciences and the US Institute of Medicine. 

Professor Mike Pringle CBE MD FRCGP FRCP

Mike is Emeritus Professor of General Practice and Head of the School of Community Health Sciences in the University of Nottingham. 

He is a member of the UK's General Medical Council and a board member of UK Biobank. Mike also helps to run the Collingham Healthcare Education Centre, an innovative primary care development project and is Strategic Director of PRIMIS+.

Professor Mary Watkins PhD MN RN RMN

Mary has been the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Plymouth since 2007 and a qualified general and mental health nurse. Following a career in the UK's National Health Service, Mary was appointed Head of the Institute of Health Studies at the University of Plymouthin 1996, before becoming dean of the faculty of Health and Social Work in 2003, Pro Vice-Chancellor Health in 2005 and Deputy Vice-Chancellor in January 2007. She gained a PhD from King's College University, London in 1994. 

Ms Rita Clifton

Rita is a non-Executive Director of Bupa; Dixons Retail plc; Emap plc and Chairman of Interbrand and Populus Ltd. She is also a member of the Board of Advisers of the Judge Business School, University of Cambridge; the Government in Sustainable Development Commission; the Editorial Board of the Journal of brand management and of the Duke of Edinburgh Award Business Advisory Panel. She is a trustee of WWF and visiting Professor at Henley Business School.

Bupa's Chief Executive, Stuart Fletcher, Group Strategy Director, Nicholas Beazley and Group Medical Director, Dr Andrew Vallance-Owen also represent Bupa's Board on the Panel.