Case of Ian Paterson: Reflection and perspective on clinical governance

In the UK, Dr Ian Paterson was charged of performing unnecessary and negligent breast operations on his patients, and he was criminally convicted and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment. Both the NHS Trust and private hospitals where Paterson was working had commissioned independent reviews on the clinical governance structure of the involved hospitals. Based on the reports, this article submitted the reflection and perspective on the clinical governance of our local surgical practice in Hong Kong with emphasis on the following areas: the granting of practice privileges in private hospitals, the incorporation of patient‐centred governance programmes, the cultivation of ‘speaking up’ organization culture, and the enhancement of individual and corporate accountability. It is envisaged that the design of future governance system must incorporate patients' values and perspectives, and that the management must execute the system fairly and robustly.