The Healthcare Quality Strategy sets out the Scottish Government’s intention to build on the collaborative, cross-disciplinary working exemplified by MCNs, as a well established approach to supporting and delivering high-quality healthcare. The Chief Executive Letter (CEL) 29 (July 2012) also notes that networks are ideally suited to delivering service redesign, quality improvement, strategy and planning across pathways working across boundaries of departments, teams, units, sectors, agencies and Boards.
MCNs improve quality and efficiency of services to patients through consensus and collaboration, by enabling clinicians, patients and service managers to work together across boundaries to deliver safe, effective and person-centred care.
MCNs are also involved in:
- Helping NHS Boards to achieve national outcomes that can be measured by the national indicators and HEAT targets.
- Linking data outputs to the standards of delivery of clinical care.
- Delivering on priority actions from the Better Heart Disease and Stroke Care Action Plan [.pdf]
- Linking all of the above to locally developed action plans focussing on improvement in the delivery of stroke care in their local area.
Further general information on MCNs can be found at:
Scottish Government communications regarding Managed Clinical Networks
- Promoting the development of Managed Clinical Networks in NHS Scotland (2002)[.pdf]
- Strengthening the role of Managed Clinical Networks (2007) [.pdf]
- Managed Clinical Networks: Supporting and delivering the healthcare quality strategy (2012) [.pdf]
