World Patient Safety Day 2024

On September 17, we celebrate WHO’s World Patient Safety Day, with this year’s theme being “Engaging patients for patient safety.” This theme highlights the vital role that patients, families, and caregivers play in ensuring healthcare safety. When patients actively participate in their healthcare, they not only enhance their own safety but also contribute to the overall safety of the healthcare system.

Patient safety is a cornerstone of quality healthcare, especially considering that harm from adverse events ranks among the top 10 causes of death and disability worldwide.

At ESICM, we have consistently championed the involvement of patients and families in improving ICU care standards and safety, recognizing that this approach can reduce harm by up to 15%. Additionally, it is essential to remember that patient safety is closely linked to the well-being of healthcare workers— caring for their safety means supporting the nurses and doctors who are essential to delivering safe care.

ESICM is part of the European Collaborative Action on Medication Errors and Traceability (ECAMET), a patient safety initiative that published a white paper on medication errors in hospitals in March 2022. It emphasises the need to establish a culture of safety, create strategies to improve communication, raise awareness, and hold regular multidisciplinary training meetings, among other things.

Moreover, we are currently offering a free educational opportunity in the field, the Patient Safety Training & Research Programme, which covers patient safety culture and its contribution to the quality of care, including:

• History of Safety Research and Implementation Science
• Patient Safety in the OR and the ICU
• Organisational Concepts of Patient Safety-centred Interventions