NHS boards are still not getting the message

The good news is that mortality rates have improved sharply. The detailed figures will reveal widespread progress, with some hospitals achieving dramatic changes.

The baffling part is that almost one in 10 trust boards still fails to routinely review patient safety and clinical outcomes.

This is despite the Department of Health’s relentless messages about quality and safety in the next stage review, the same from the Care Quality Commission and the fallout from the Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust scandal.

It is difficult to comprehend how a board could not have got the message. Either these boards don’t have a clue what they are supposed to be doing, or they do not have the skills and confidence to take on these responsibilities.

Effective governance is one of the central pillars of an effective patient safety regime; no board should still be getting this wrong.