Engaging patients for patient safety – World Patient Safety Day

Patient harm ranks among top 10 leading causes of the global disease burden, and is comparable to diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria, leading to death and disability. An estimated 421 million hospitalizations in the world annually, and approximately 42.7 million adverse events occur in patients during these hospitalizations, a number of them due to acquired infections.

Safe health care is a fundamental right of all patients, everywhere, every time.

EPN  has been committed to sustaining its efforts in promoting professionalism among healthcare workers, strengthening access to and affordability of healthcare services, supporting supply of and quality of medicine, combating drug resistance, and engaging all actors in advocating for quality healthcare services for all to reduce morbidity. Through the values that we hold, we ensure that we have diversity and inclusion of race, religion and persons living with disabilities.

As we commemorate World Patient Safety Day,  we commend healthcare workers for taking their time to listen to the voices of our communities and ensuring that patients are attended to while striving to provide correct treatment services at all times. We also acknowledge the role of patients, families and caregivers in promoting access to safe healthcare services.

We continue to express our commitments to seeking solutions that will improve patient safety and patient awareness. Awareness is as important as encouraging best practices and fighting misinformation from facility to community. It is possible to reduce patient harm through sustained action by all actors i.e policy-makers, health care leaders, health and care workers, patients and their families, patient advocates and civil society. Together, we can elevate the voices of patients and ensure patient safety.

#Let’s embrace patient safety. Let us work together to elevate the voices of patients!