SPEECH ON WORLD PATIENT

SAFETY DAY
“Engaging patients for patient safety means listening to their voices, respecting their rights, and
empowering them to participate in their own care”

Good morning, everyone. Today, we celebrate World Patient Safety Day. A day to raise awareness about
the importance of patient safety and advocate for actions to improve it. This year the theme of World
Patient safety Day is “Elevate the voice of patients!”

Patient safety is the prevention of harm to patients. It is a fundamental right of all patients, everywhere,
every time. And yet, globally, at least 5 patients die every minute because of unsafe care.

This is unacceptable. We must do more to ensure that patients are safe when they receive healthcare.

There are many things that can be done to improve patient safety. One important step is to engage
patients and families in their own care. Evidence shows that when patients are treated as partners in
their care, significant gains are made in safety, patient satisfaction and health outcomes. By becoming
active members of the health care team, patients can contribute to the safety of their care and that of
the health care system as a whole

Another important step is to create a culture of safety in healthcare settings. This means that healthcare
professionals should feel safe reporting errors and near misses, and they should be supported in
learning from their mistakes.

We also need to invest in systems and processes that can help to prevent errors from happening in the
first place. This includes things like electronic health records and barcoding systems.

Improving patient safety is a complex challenge, but it is one that we must address. We all have a role to
play in making healthcare safer.

At the end of the day, the goals are simple: Safety and security

Thank you.