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.