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WIRRAL HEALTH AUTHORITY
RISK MANAGEMENT STRATEGY |
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OVERALL AIM OF STRATEGY
Wirral Health Authority is committed to a risk management strategy
that reduces risk to a minimum by the adoption of robust control
standards whilst not stifling innovative and developmental practices
for the benefit of all the healthcare recipients of the Wirral.
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INTRODUCTION
Good risk management is an inherent element of the functioning of
Wirral Health Authority. A holistic approach to risk will be adopted
in order to address any occurrences, be they organisational, clinical
or financial in nature. In line with best practice, as contained
in HSC 1999/123 "Controls Assurance Statement 1999/2000: - Risk
Management and Organisational Controls", the Authority will implement
a system that reviews the organisation's performance with regard
to the management of risk. |
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RISK MANAGEMENT - STRUCTURE
Appendix A details the organisational structure
for managing risk within the Authority. Within this structure the
following have specific responsibility. |
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- Chief Executive - the 'Accountable
Officer' responsible for having effective systems of risk management
and internal control in place.
- Director of Finance and Performance
Management - the Executive Director with lead responsibility
for ensuring compliance with the various controls assurance
requirements and for reporting regularly to the Board (and/or
Risk Management Committee)
- Risk Management Committee -
the Committee, delegated by the Board, to receive reports and
monitor progress of the agreed action plan to enable the Board
to sign off the Controls Assurance Statement in the Annual Report.
(Membership and Terms of Reference attached as Appendix
B).
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Note: The membership
and role of the Committee will remain under review as issues change
and develop. |
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ASSESSMENT OF RISK
The Authority will work with the national Controls Assurance Standards
(18 in original guidance) that are published from time to time and,
within the criteria set, assess each risk as high, medium or low.
Additionally, the Authority will work 'outside the box' of these
national standards to assess any risks identified by its staff or
other stakeholders. A similar ranking will apply to these risks.
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MONITORING OF IDENTIFIED RISKS
The Authority will undertake a baseline assessment of all identified
risks and allocate a percentage score against the various criteria
involved. This level of performance will form the basis of agreed
Action Plans, which will track the progress of this baseline performance
towards 100% achievement of managing the relevant risks. The Authority
is working with Merseyside Internal Audit Agency to develop this
model.
As stated earlier, the Risk Management Committee will be responsible
for monitoring the progress of the approved Action Plans. |
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RECORDING RISK
The provision of a 'risk register' following the baseline assessment
referred to above, will enable all notified risks/incidents to be
recorded to enable assessment and prioritisation to take place.
Regular reports of these incidents will be submitted to the Risk
Management Committee. |
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COMMUNICATION
Copies of this Strategy document will be made available to all existing
members of staff and subsequently, included as part of the induction
pack for new employees. Through the various staff meetings/forums
the importance of Risk Management and the requirement to notify
the identification of risks will be regularly enforced. |
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REVIEW
The Risk Management Committee will
be required to undertake an annual review of this Strategy and make
the necessary recommendation to the Health Authority Board for any
changes required. |
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