Professor Noel Whelan:

Each of us has a focus on patients through the committee system. I refer to committees like the clinical effectiveness committee and the risk committee for quality and medical care. In addition, representatives of nurses and management attend each of our board meetings. We also focus on patient care and delivery. This is an ongoing issue at our board meetings. One of the committees - the clinical governance committee - is specifically mandated to keep before it the idea of patient care and safety.