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Patient Safety Rights Charter

Event Report: WHO Patient Safety Rights Charter

The World Patients Alliance (WPA) successfully hosted a webinar focusing on the WHO Patient Safety Rights Charter, an initiative that affirms patient safety as a fundamental human right. The webinar served as a platform to unite global healthcare leaders, patient advocates, and stakeholders to deliberate on the Charter’s importance and its role in fostering equitable, safe, and accountable healthcare delivery worldwide.

The event commenced with a welcome address and introduction by Helen Haskell, Chair of the WPA Patient Safety & Quality Council. Helen set the stage by explaining the critical role of charters in promoting patient rights globally. She emphasized the WPA’s mission to empower patients to play a proactive role in demanding safe and equitable care.

The first keynote presentation, delivered by Dr. Ashok Philip, President of the World Medical Association, offered a physician’s perspective on patient rights. Dr. Philip drew connections between patient safety, ethical medical practice, and historical milestones like the Declaration of Lisbon. He underscored the significance of patient autonomy, access to quality care, and the ethical obligation of healthcare providers to act in patients’ best interests.

Dr. Ayda Taha, Technical Officer at WHO’s Patient Safety Flagship, presented an in-depth overview of the WHO Patient Safety Rights Charter. Dr. Taha highlighted the Charter’s development, objectives, and urgency, citing alarming statistics—1 in 10 patients are harmed due to unsafe care, resulting in over 3 million deaths annually. She outlined the Charter’s 10 patient safety rights, including access to safe care, dignity, respect, and information sharing. The Charter’s linkage to the broader human rights agenda reinforces its universal applicability, positioning patient safety as a non-negotiable element of healthcare delivery.

Regional insights were shared by Jolanta Bilinska, Founding Director of WPA, and Cecilia Nantume, Research and Policy Advocacy Consultant. Jolanta highlighted the evolution of patient rights in Poland and the EU, illustrating Poland’s transformation from a lack of confidentiality and informed consent during the communist era to the establishment of 12 fundamental patient rights in 2008. Despite progress, challenges like inadequate hospital conditions and low patient awareness persist. Meanwhile, Cecilia addressed the implementation of patient rights in Uganda, where rights such as informed consent exist but are hindered by systemic issues like funding constraints, enforcement gaps, and limited advocacy. She called for constitutional reforms and stronger stakeholder engagement to bridge these gaps.

Key Takeaways

1. Patient Safety is a Human Right: Patient safety is rooted in international human rights treaties and must be treated as a priority.
2. Global Adoption: The Charter must be implemented across countries, with adaptable frameworks for local healthcare systems.
3. Systemic Change: Addressing healthcare-related harm requires robust policies, accountability mechanisms, and monitoring systems.
4. Empowering Patients: Patients must be educated and actively engaged in healthcare processes to ensure their safety and dignity.
5. Regional Challenges: Issues like limited resources, low awareness, and poor enforcement impede patient safety in many regions.

Outcomes

The webinar successfully:
• Raised awareness of the WHO Patient Safety Rights Charter and its role in preventing patient harm.
• Highlighted regional challenges and opportunities for improving patient safety in both high-income and resource-limited settings.
• Reinforced a global commitment to advocate for the Charter’s adoption and implementation.

Recommendations

To promote patient safety worldwide, the following actionable recommendations emerged:
1. Adopt the Charter: Integrate its principles into national healthcare systems and policies.
2. Educate Patients and Providers: Conduct awareness campaigns to inform patients about their rights and train healthcare professionals on safety practices.
3. Strengthen Policies: Develop legislative frameworks to ensure compliance with patient safety standards.
4. Monitor and Evaluate: Implement systems to track progress, identify gaps, and drive continuous improvement.
5. Foster Collaboration: Enhance partnerships among governments, NGOs, and patient organizations to promote advocacy and knowledge sharing.

Conclusion

The webinar on the WHO Patient Safety Rights Charter underscored the critical need for global action to ensure safe, transparent, and patient-centered healthcare. By affirming patient safety as a fundamental right, the Charter serves as a blueprint for stakeholders to address healthcare-related harm and elevate standards of care worldwide. Stakeholders are now tasked with translating the Charter’s principles into action, ensuring every patient receives safe, dignified, and equitable healthcare.

In his closing remarks, Andrew Spiegel, Chair of the WPA, expressed his gratitude to all the speakers and the moderator for their insightful contributions and efforts in making the webinar a great success. He thanked everyone for their participation.

Agenda

Speakers

Jolanta Bilińska
Jolanta Bilińska –Director of Development and Social Communication at City Medical Centre dr. K. Jonscher in Lodz, lecturer at High School for Nurses in Kalisz, before at National Health Fund- Lodz, Head of the Department of International Cooperation. Jolanta Bilińska has M.A. in Clinical Psychology. She used to diagnose hospitalised children and teenagers with personal disorders. In early 90”s she started working for regional newspaper – DziennikŁódzki. She published almost 2000 articles concerning medical issues and politics. She was mostly interested in matters relating to patients’ rights and the way they are observed in health care system. She also raised patients’ awareness of the health care system. Since the year 2004 she has performed the function of coordinator concerning European Union in National Health FundinŁódź. Since 2005 she has been the champion leader in World Alliance for Patient Safety. In 2006 she established Patient Safety Foundation. Its main aim is to promote safety measures in health service as well as to involve patients in the process of treatment, The foundation cooperates with the Ministry of Health, WHO officer and another non-governmental organization which are regarding patients’ matters. She is an expert in Public Health from 2009,she was also a IAPO chair of the board from 2015– 2018 (International Alliance of Patients Organizations).
Cecilia Nantume
Cecilia Nantume Okiring is a Nurse-Midwife and public health professional. She is passionate about using implementation and operations research, to drive health care quality improvement, patient safety and policy change. Over the past 10 years Cecilia has used her expertise in research, clinical care, policy analysis, Policy and budget advocacy, systems strengthening, quality improvement, monitoring and evaluation to improve quality of services and domestic investments in sexual and reproductive health Cecilia holds Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Makerere University, Master of Public health specializing in health economics, Policy and Health care management from Karolinska Institute and professional training certificates in Policy development and advocacy for global Health, sexual and reproductive health on global perspective, critical care nursing and, monitoring and evaluation of public health programs. Cecilia is currently an independent Research and policy advocacy consultant in Uganda working with patient organizations to advocate for equitable access to qualitycare patients’ safety.
Ayda Taha
Dr Ayda Taha, MBBS, MD is a Technical Officer at the Patient Safety Flagship, Integrated Health Services Department, in WHO Headquarters. She is a medical doctor and a public health specialist with a passion for improving patient safety. In her current role, Dr Ayda manages the World Patient Safety Day campaign, the Patients for Patient Safety Programme, and oversees the Global Patient Safety Network and Global Knowledge Sharing Platform. She has led the development of WHO’s Patient Safety rights Charter and has contributed to the Global Patient Safety Action Plan 2021-2030 and the Global Patient Safety Report. Beginning her career as a clinician, Dr Ayda soon recognized the critical need to improve healthcare safety and quality. She became the Head of Patient Safety at the Ministry of Health in Sudan, where she was pivotal in strengthening the national patient safety program. As a public health specialist, Dr. Ayda has experience in HIV, disease control, and health systems strengthening. She has also served as a Technical Officer for the Global Fund’s Project Management Unit in Sudan.
Ashok Philip
Dr Ashok Philip, a specialist in Internal Medicine practicing in the private sector in Malaysia, boasts a distinguished career marked by significant contributions to the medical community. As a past President of the Malaysian Medical Association, he remains actively engaged in discussions concerning proposed changes within the healthcare system in Malaysia. Since his inaugural attendance at the General Assembly in Moscow in 2015, Philip has served in various capacities within the WMA, including participation in several committees and working groups. Notably, he chaired the workgroup on governance reform and the advocacy committee. Recognizing the diversity of experiences among member associations within the WMA, Philip is committed to fostering a more inclusive and balanced environment. He aims to amplify the voices of small member associations, championing their concerns and priorities to enhance the overall relevance and effectiveness of the WMA within the medical profession. During his Presidency, Philip endeavors to uphold and strengthen the ethos of openness and collaboration within the WMA, ensuring that all members have a platform to express their perspectives and shape the organization's direction.

Date

Dec 05 2024
Expired!

Time

All Day
Category

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