World Patient Safety Day

September 17 marks the advent of World Patient Safety Day. The event is an opportunity for patients, their families and caregivers, health professionals, and community groups to unite and show commitment to patient safety. In 2024, the theme of the event is “Improving diagnosis for patient safety.”

What is World Patient Safety Day?

Established in 2019, World Patient Safety Day was created as a cornerstone of action to promote global health and safety. The event highlights the need for safety throughout the entirety of the diagnostic process. Notably, the end goal of this drive is to reduce errors in the healthcare process to ensure a more reliable medical process. World Patient Safety Day is an opportunity to promote patient safety standards across the globe. This is achieved through increasing awareness and engagement, enhancing global understanding, and working towards global action.

Objectives of World Patient Safety Day 2024

The objectives of World Patient Safety Day 2024 are available on the World Health Organisation’s website. Each objective was created in accordance with the goals of the Global Patient Safety Action Plan 2021-2030.

1. Raise global awareness of errors in diagnosis contributing to patient harm and emphasise the pivotal role of correct, timely and safe diagnosis in improving patient safety.
2. Give prominence to diagnostic safety in patient safety policy and clinical practice at all levels of health care, aligned with the Global Patient Safety Action Plan 2021–2030.
3. Foster collaboration among policy-makers, healthcare leaders, health workers, patient organisations, and other stakeholders in advancing correct, timely and safe diagnosis.
4. Empower patients and families to actively engage with health workers and healthcare leaders to improve diagnostic processes.

Why is World Patient Safety Day important?

The main goal of World Patient Safety Day is to reduce errors within the healthcare system. Errors fall under three main categories: delayed diagnosis, incorrect diagnosis, and missed diagnosis. Each of these types of error has the potential to cause significant harm to a person. These are:

1. Delayed diagnosis – this error occurs when a health condition is not identified at an early stage, leading to inadequate treatment
2. Incorrect diagnosis – this error occurs when an incorrect diagnosis is made initially, often leading to the wrong treatment
3. Missed diagnosis – this error occurs when a health condition is not identified at all, meaning required treatment is missed

Naturally, for significant healthcare problems, an error in diagnosis can lead to major problems. As the push for better patient care continues, World Patient Safety Day is an important reminder of the improvements still to be made.

Increasing patient safety worldwide

World Patient Safety Day has led to many significant improvements in the medical field. The event has helped identify avenues for increased patient safety. The areas that need attention across the globe include:

• Data collection
• Simple medical procedures
• Safe workplaces
• Patient and practitioner relationships
• Safe culture

Each of these methods represents an inefficient system. By highlighting the need to improve these systems, healthcare officials can begin to push for increased service quality. In time, this will lead to more accurate, safer healthcare.

Getting involved in World Patient Safety Day

There are a wide variety of ways to show your support for World Patient Safety Day in 2024. As part of the annual World Patient Safety Day campaign, public spaces and landmarks will be lit up orange in support. Additionally, many other campaigns will be run across the globe. This includes social media activities, advocacy, technical events, fundraisers, and awareness campaigns. For more information on safety and healthcare, visit Trilogy Care’s resources page.