Relationship between clinical governance and hospital performance: a cross-sectional study of psychiatric hospitals in Ghana

Purpose: Clinical governance (CG) is crucial for healthcare quality of care improvement and safeguarding high standards of care. Little is known about CG in sub-Saharan Africa. The authors assessed health workers' perceptions of CG and hospital performance in Ghana's psychiatric hospitals. Design/methodology/approach: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 230 health workers across two psychiatric hospitals in Ghana. Data were collected with a structured questionnaire and analyzed with Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 23.0. Findings: The majority (59.5%) of the respondents were females. The authors found that less than five in ten respondents felt that the hospitals have adopted measures to promote quality assurance (43.2%) and research and development (43.7%). However, a little above half of the respondents felt that the hospitals have adopted measures to promote education and training (57.7%); clinical audit (52.7%); risk management (50.7%) and clinical effectiveness (68.6%). The authors also found a statistically significant association between CG and hospital performance (p < 0.05). Research limitations/implications: There was a positive relationship between CG and hospital performance. Therefore, investing in CG may help to increase hospital performance. Originality/value: This is the maiden study to investigate CG and hospital performance in Ghana's psychiatric hospitals and one of the few studies in Africa. This study makes a modest contribution to the global discourse on the subject matter.