Risk Management

There will always be a degree of risk in whatever an organisation is trying to achieve. For NHS Lothian, that is the provision of safe and effective healthcare care services in secondary, community and primary care settings. The range of associated activities include caring for people using our services, employing staff and managing finance and premises, all of which, by their very nature carry inherent risk.

Risk creates uncertainty, and if we do not actively manage risk, this may impact on our ability to achieve our goals and objectives.

To increase our chances of success in achieving our purpose, we should:

•  Be very clear what we are trying to achieve, and purposely set out the objectives
• Identify the risks to those objectives. Risks should always be related to objectives, as this allows us to properly assess them and consider how important they are in terms of their threat to success
• Put in place measures and take appropriate action to manage the risks.

This Risk Management Policy has been produced to embed a consistent approach to risk management across NHS Lothian as an integral part of everything we do.