World Health Organisation (WHO) launched Patient Safety Rights Charter at Global Ministerial Summit on Patient Safety

Posted 20 Apr 2024

2 min read

Charter was developed within framework of World Patient Safety Day 2023 under theme “Engaging patients for patient safety”.
- It will provide healthcare workers, leaders and governments with the tools to build patient-centred healthcare systems, improving patient safety and reducing risk of harm.
- It is a key resource intended to support implementation of Global Patient Safety (GPS) Action Plan 2021–2030.
  - India has signed GPS Action Plan 2021-2030.

Patient safety
- A framework of organized activities that creates cultures, processes, procedures in health systems which promote safety and minimise the risk of harm to patients.

Concerns associated with Patient safety
- Around 1 in every 10 patients is harmed in healthcare and more than 3 million deaths occur annually due to unsafe care.
- Above 50% of harm is preventable; half of this is attributed to medications.
- Other: Unsafe surgical procedures, healthcare-associated infections, diagnostic errors, patient misidentification, unsafe blood transfusion etc.

Initiatives taken to ensure Patient Safety
- Global: World Alliance for Patient Safety; WHO Patient Safety Initiatives (2015–2020); National patient safety implementation framework (2018–2025); Global Patient Safety Challenge etc.
- India: National patient safety implementation framework (2018–2025), etc.