NICE guidance and Risk Registers
We have received enquiries concerning the advice in the 'How to put NICE guidance into practice' booklet which suggests that when guidance is not relevant it is recorded in the risk register. Some trusts have fed back that this is not always appropriate or in line with the trust's risk management policy and have asked us to review this.
Our updated advice is that trusts should have a transparent and auditable process for deciding the relevance of guidance to their organisation and a record of decisions made. This should be included in the trust's approved documentation on how NICE guidance is taken into account in the context of the clinical and public health services provided by the organisation.
This approach is also aligned with the NHS Litigation Authority's risk management standard 5.8 which includes the criterion that the organisation's approved documentation should include a process for documenting any decision not to implement NICE recommendations.
Use of the risk register to record any decisions not to implement NICE guidance should be made in line with the trust's risk management policy.
Your local NICE implementation consultant will be able to offer more detailed support, specific to your local needs.
This page was last updated: 25 October 2010
