17th September was declared as World Patient Safety Day by WHO in 2019. This event was proclaimed with the purpose to increase public awareness and engagement, enhance global understanding, and to call for global solidarity and actions to improve patient care.
Patient safety is defined as the prevention of harm to patients and includes a few areas as medication safety, surgical care safety, patient care safety, infection prevention and overall treatment of the patients in medical institutions. It aims to prevent and reduce risks, errors and injuries that occur to patients during the provision of health care. Every patient is entitled to receive the medical care they need and when they need, promptly, safely and conveniently. The patient places a very high degree of trust in the health care systems and they are entitled to expect that the medical professionals and other health care staff perform their duties competently.
Despite the advancement in technology, medical science, raising standards, guidance and protocols in the health-care systems, there are still problems and issues related to patient service. Medical malpractice, unintentional diagnostic and care errors, and negligence are behind many lives lost and injuries under the care of medical professionals and health care workers.
A broad variety of safety issues still exists under the provision of health care like misdiagnosis, prescription of wrong medications or the wrong dosage, delayed testing and treatments, non-treatment decisions and nor ordering appropriate diagnostic tests, surgical errors, improper communications with patients, failing to provide a proper follow-up, lack of basic nursing care in hospital/nursing homes, in particular related to feeding, hydration and patient hygiene. The listed are only some of them.
Improving the safety of patient care is an impetus and a global health priority. Recognizing that problems exist, addressing those problems and issues and creating positive changes in each area of patient safety can make a tremendous difference to the safety, care and dignity of patients.
The purpose of the Patient Safety Day is to draw together everyone involved in patient safety, including patients, families, caregivers, communities, healthcare professionals, health care leaders and policy-makers to be aware of the health care issues, to address those issues and to employ best practices in ensuring safer care for every patient.