This study examines the role of governance in teamwork, continuous improvement, and patient safety in private hospitals. The current study examines the indirect influence of governance on patient safety in private hospitals by considering the mediating role of teamwork and continuous improvement.

This study employed stratified random sampling to gather data from 251 personnel working in private hospitals who were directly engaged in patient services. The construct validity and hypothesized path coefficients were evaluated using the SmartPLS-4 software.

The study's findings suggest that governance significantly and positively impacts teamwork, continuous improvement, and patient safety within private hospitals. The results also demonstrated that teamwork and continuous improvement positively impact patient safety in private hospitals. Significantly, this study has uncovered that governance has a robust and favourable indirect impact on patient safety in private hospitals using the mediating role of teamwork and continuous improvement.

The study's findings will offer a framework for how governance, teamwork, and continuous improvement contribute to the body of knowledge and have practical implications for improving patient safety in the private health sector.

This study contributes novel insights by theorising that governance enhances patient safety through adaptive processes rather than direct intervention, adding depth to the current understanding of governance mechanisms in healthcare. It also enriches the academic discourse by filling gaps in understanding of patient safety in private hospitals and offers practical, actionable recommendations for healthcare administrators and policymakers in high- and middle-income countries.