In the light of World Patient Safety Day on 17th September, 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) has unveiled its landmark Patient Safety Rights Charter. This pioneering document is centered around the protection of patients within healthcare settings. WHO’s focus is transitioning from a blame-oriented methodology to a system-based outlook, putting more emphasis on comprehending the systemic mistakes in medical care. The theme set for World Patient Safety Day 2023 is ‘Engaging patients for patient safety’.
Understanding Patient Safety
Patient safety is all about concentrated efforts to inhibit unintentional harm during healthcare provision. It forms a crucial facet of worldwide healthcare. Several factors contribute towards patient harm. These sources of harm commonly include medication errors, surgical errors, healthcare-associated infections, sepsis, diagnostic errors, and patient falls. Apart from these, harm can also stem from system and organizational failures, technology limitations, human factors, and individual patient-related conditions. This signifies the multi-dimensional character of patient safety incidents.
The First-Ever Patient Safety Rights Charter
The Patient Safety Rights Charter has been established to underline the fundamental rights of all patients concerning the safety of health care. It is designed to support governments and relevant stakeholders in ensuring that patients’ voices are acknowledged and their entitlement to safe healthcare is safeguarded.
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), approximately one out of every ten patients encounters harm during healthcare processes. This alarming rate results in over three million annual deaths worldwide which are linked to unsafe treatment.
Investments made in patient safety can bring about positive health outcomes, lower costs related to patient harm, enhance the efficiency of the system, and aid in reinstating community trust in healthcare systems.
A major chunk of patient harm can be prevented, which makes it crucial to actively involve patients, their families, and caregivers in the process of minimizing harm.
Present Gaps and Way Forward
A survey conducted in 2023 involving WHO Member States uncovered a lack in executing the Global Patient Safety Action Plan of 2021-2030. It highlighted the necessity for patient representation and for addressing issues related to income-based differences in execution. The interim results divulged that merely 13% of the nations that responded have a patient representative on their governing board or an analogous mechanism in the majority of their hospitals.
This brings into focus the significant role of the Patient Safety Rights Charter and the need for its efficient implementation to ensure patient safety and improved healthcare systems globally.
