WHO releases first-of-its-kind patient safety rights charter ahead of Patient Safety Day

Subject: IR

Section: International relations

Context:

The World Health Organization (WHO) released the first-ever patient safety rights charter outlining the core rights of all patients in the context of safety of health care on September 14, 2023.

About the charter:

The charter also sought to assist governments and other stakeholders to ensure the voices of patients are heard and their right to safe health care is protected.
The mistakes in patient safety occur due to system or process failures, underlining the importance of understanding the underlying causes of errors in medical care.
The WHO unveiled two new resources at the conference for patient safety — a storytelling toolkit to guide patients and families in sharing their experience related to harmful events within health care and Global Knowledge Sharing Platform that will support the exchange of global resources, best practices, tools and resources related to patient safety.
The upcoming World Patient Safety Day, to be celebrated on September 17, 2023 this year, aims to emphasize the crucial role of listening to patients, families and caregivers.

Patient safety:

Patient safety is the avoidance of unintended or unexpected harm to people during the provision of health care.
Around 1 in every 10 patients is harmed in health care and more than 3 million deaths occur annually due to unsafe care, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
In low-to-middle income countries, as many as 4 in 100 people die from unsafe care.
Some of the most common sources of patient harm are medication errors, surgical errors, health care-associated infections, sepsis, diagnostic errors and patient falls.
The Global Patient Safety Action Plan 2021-2030 is ina poor state of execution.
Investing in patient safety positively impacts health outcomes, reduces costs related to patient harm, improves system efficiency, and helps in reassuring communities and restoring their trust in health care systems.