World Patient Safety Day, one of World Health Organization (WHO)’s global public health days, is observed annually on 17 September. World Patient Safety Day is the cornerstone of action to promote global health and safety. It is firmly grounded in the fundamental principle of medicine – “first do no harm”. Its objectives are to increase public awareness and engagement, enhance global understanding, and work towards global solidarity and action to promote patient safety. Each year, a new theme is selected for World Patient Safety Day to highlight a priority patient safety area needing urgent and concerted action. Recognizing the critical importance of correct and timely diagnoses in ensuring patient safety, “Improving diagnosis for patient safety” has been selected as the theme for World Patient Safety Day 2024.
At CRCH, we will be celebrating World Patient Safety Day at both our sites. At CRCH, patient safety is a top priority for us. We want patients to feel safe and receive safe, adequate care. We work hard to identify and mitigate risks, create and review processes to improve patient safety, and implement preventative actions to keep patients safe.
The WHO has recently published the 10 fundamental patient safety rights:
- Timely, effective and appropriate care;
- Safe health care processes and practices;
- Qualified and competent health workers;
- Safe medical products and their safe and rational use;
- Safe and secure health care facilities;
- Dignity, respect, non-discrimination, privacy and confidentiality;
- Information, education and supported decision making
- Access medical records;
- To be heard and fair resolution;
- Patient and family engagement.
Since the theme for this year is about diagnoses, we have decided to focus on HIV screening and correct diagnoses based on the results of the screening. CRCH has received a federal grant to increase our efforts to offer HIV screening, prevention, and treatment to our community. Come visit one of our sites to learn more about HIV screening, prevention, and treatment and how CRCH emphasizes and improves patient safety.
You can learn more about World Patient Safety Day here.
