ABSTRACT
The growth in clinical guidelines has gathered pace in the United Kingdom with the advent of clinical governance and the arrival of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE). There are substantial benefits to the introduction of clinical guidelines but they are dependent upon the guidelines themselves being developed, presented and implemented in a robust and appropriate way. The benefits accrue from the consistency of care offered across groups of patients and by groups of professionals. This leads to the delivery of clinically effective care which, in an appropriately written guideline, will also be cost-effective. Clear guidance will reduce errors and provide a clear standard for care to be subsequently or even prospectively audited. This framework then creates an environment for education, either in the gathering of knowledge for the development of the guideline or in the implementation phase, for staff and patients alike.
