Elevating patient voices in celebration of World Patient Safety Day

The Institute of Global Health Innovation co-hosted a virtual event for World Patient Safety Day, on 14 September.

The global patient safety community have celebrated World Patient Safety Day (WPSD) 2023, which takes place annually on 17 September. Set up by the World Health Organisation, this year’s theme ‘Engaging patients for patient safety’, recognises the crucial role patients, families and caregivers play in the safety of healthcare.

The Institute of Global Health Innovation (IGHI) at Imperial College London, and its Centre of Excellence the NIHR North West London Patient Safety Research Collaboration (NIHR NWL PSRC), co-hosted the event in collaboration with Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. Acknowledging the value of the patient perspective, the event was co-designed with valuable input from patient representatives from the NIHR NWL PSRC’s Research Partners Group and the Trust’s Patient Safety Partners.

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The event, expertly chaired by Professor Bryony Dean Franklin, Director of the NIHR NWL PSRC, started with keynote speeches from Professor the Lord Ara Darzi, Co-Director of the IGHI, Dr Henrietta Hughes, England’s Patient Safety Commissioner, and Rosie Bartel, patient advocate, emphasising the importance of hearing patient’s voices.

"As I mentor patients and other caregivers to share their story, I also mentor people that work in healthcare to be co-designers. Today, I believe that's one of the most important words in healthcare." - Rosie Bartel, Patient Advocate

This was followed by an excellent panel session on how clinicians, patients and carers can work together to support patients and their families to feel safe and engage with their care, chaired by Dr Tessa Richards, Ex-BMJ Associate Editor and longstanding doctor/patient partnership advocate. The panellists were:

• Professor Jane O’Hara, Professor of Healthcare Quality and Safety at the University of Leeds
• Professor Amanda Ullman, Professor and Chair in Paediatric Nursing conjoint between the University of Queensland and Children’s Health Queensland
• Asmahan Al Nidawi, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust Patient Safety Partner 
• Dr Michael Ramsay, Chief Executive Officer of the Patient Safety Movement Foundation 

The panel was followed by a keynote speech from Maria Caulfield, MP Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care, and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Women).  The event recording can be watched online.  

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