Clinical guidelines are ‘systematically developed statements which assist clinicians and patients in making decisions about appropriate treatment for specific conditions’. They offer concise instruction on clinical practice and can be developed at a national or local level by multidisciplinary groups. Locally, guidelines can be developed in relation to any clinical condition or aspect of practice with the aim of improving the quality of care. Five key reasons for choosing an area in which to develop guidelines have been identified:
- where there is excessive morbidity, disability or mortality
- where treatment offers good potential for reducing morbidity, disability or mortality
- where there is wide countrywide variation in clinical practice
- where resources involved are resource intensive- either high volume and low cost or low volume and high cost
- where boundary issues are involved, across sector and across professional bodies
Information in this section has been approved by the East Lancashire Medicines Management Board which approves medicine related guidance across the East Lancashire Health Economy, which consists of;
- Blackburn with Darwen Clinical Commissioning Group
- East Lancashire Clinical Commissioning Group
- East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust
The local guidelines therefore apply to these organisations, unless otherwise stated.
