EMN
Dimapur, December 9
December 9 is observed every year by health organizations as World Patient Safety Day to raise awareness about the safety of patient. Patient safety is a global public health concern and is a fundamental principle of health care. The main aim of this day is to raise awareness about patient safety issues in all parts of the world.
Hospital is a place which provides treatment to sick people round the clock. However at times, it could turn out to be life threatening as well. Every process of patient care safety involves a certain degree of uncertainty. The discipline of patient safety highlights the importance to prevent harm to patients, caused by the process of healthcare itself. Improving patient safety means reducing harm to the patient.
An event to mark the day was observed on the 9th by the Shija Hospitals & Research Institute (SHRI) Pvt Ltd, in Langol of Manipur recently. Dr. Devendra Kh, Consultant General and Laparoscopic Surgeon, of the institute presented a discourse about surgical safety measures for patients. He emphasized on the magnitude of impact that adverse events can cause. Strict compliance to pre-defined protocols and following surgical safety checklist advised by WHO is key to avoiding surgical errors. “Safety of patients is everyone’s business”, he said, including all levels of healthcare providers, patients and their families.
Dr. Kennedy T, Consultant Anesthesiologist and Critical Care Specialist, SHRI, presented on Medical Errors with the gathering. Preventable medical errors, its incidences and how to avoid them were highlighted. He stressed on the importance of the management of all healthcare institutes to encourage reporting of events even if it is a near miss event which has not caused any harm to the patient in order to avoid such errors in the future. Avoiding abbreviations and writing legibly by health care professionals will also contribute towards preventing errors, said he. He drew attention of the gathering towards a culture of safety to be practiced and embraced by all.
The concern is valid. According to WHO, estimates show that in developed countries as many as 1 in 10 patients are harmed while receiving hospital care. The harm can be caused by a range of errors or adverse events. Recent advancement in technology has created an immensely complex healthcare system. This complexity brings many challenges for healthcare staff in order to keep the patient safe. Though, a lot of people are treated successfully but there are times when things can go wrong.
10 Facts on patient’s Safety
Patient safety is a serious global public health issue
• There is now growing recognition that patient safety and quality is a critical dimension of universal health coverage. Since the launch of the WHO Patient Safety Programme in 2004, over 140 countries have worked to address the challenges of unsafe care.
One in 10 patients may be harmed while in hospital
• Estimates show that in developed countries as many as 1 in 10 patients is harmed while receiving hospital care. The harm can be caused by a range of errors or adverse events.
• Of every 100 hospitalized patients at any given time, 7 in developed and 10 in developing countries will acquire health care-associated infections (HAIs). Hundreds of millions of patients are affected worldwide each year. Simple and low-cost infection prevention and control measures, such as appropriate hand hygiene, can reduce the frequency of HAIs by more than 50%.
• There are an estimated 1.5 million different medical devices and over 10 000 types of devices available worldwide. The majority of the world’s population is denied adequate access to safe and appropriate medical devices within their health systems. More than half of low- and lower middle-income countries do not have a national health technology policy which could ensure the effective use of resources through proper planning, assessment, acquisition and management of medical devices.
• Key injection safety indicators measured in 2010 show that important progress has been made in the reuse rate of injection devices (5.5% in 2010), while modest gains were made through the reduction of the number of injections per person per year (2.88 in 2010).
• An estimated 234 million surgical operations are performed globally every year. Surgical care is associated with a considerable risk of complications. Surgical care errors contribute to a significant burden of disease despite the fact that 50% of complications associated with surgical care are avoidable.
• Safety studies show that additional hospitalization, litigation costs, infections acquired in hospitals, disability, lost productivity and medical expenses cost some countries as much as US$ 19 billion annually. The economic benefits of improving patient safety are therefore compelling.
• Industries with a perceived higher risk such as the aviation and nuclear industries have a much better safety record than health care. There is a 1 in 1 000 000 chance of a traveller being harmed while in an aircraft. In comparison, there is a 1 in 300 chance of a patient being harmed during health care.
• People’s experience and perspectives are valuable resources for identifying needs, measuring progress and evaluating outcomes.
Hospital partnerships can play a critical role
• Hospital-to-hospital partnerships to improving patient safety and quality of care have been used for technical exchange between health workers for a number of decades. These partnerships provide a channel for bi-directional patient safety learning and the co-development of solutions in rapidly evolving global health systems.
