Dear HIFA colleagues,
Last week I shared reflections from a WHO webinar on Patient safety and NCDs. https://www.hifa.org/dgroups-rss/reflections-who-patient-safety-webinar-...
Today I attended another webinar on Patient safety and NCDs. This one was hosted by WHO in association with the International Alliance for Patient Organisations.
The speakers included Blerta Maliqi, head of the patient safety team at WHO, and Ratna Devi of IAPO.
Panellists included Ferdinant Sonyuy CSEM UHC2030), Iram Eseghir, Klaus Von Pressentin (WONCA), Lydia Makaroff
Blerta Maliqi gave a keynote presentation outlining the impact of patient safety and NCDs. She noted that 74% of deaths worldwide are de to NCDs, and that people living with NCDs are especially vulnerable to unsafe care, for several reasons: repeated contact with health services over prolonged periods of time, exposure to devices, multiple medications. There are problems with failure to implement interventions, misdiagnosis, poor communications. She mentioned 'Safer care in every health facility and community', which points to the need to look at patient safety outside of the hosppital environment. She also spoke of the importance of supporting health workers to understand and strengthen safety practices. A systematic review is in progress which will be published in April 2027. Preliinary findings suggest that 1 in 6 patients preventable harm while receiving NCD care, and perhaps 1 in 3 for those receiing cancer care. (I'm not sure what the denojminator is for this - are we talking 1 in 6 per hospital contact? hospital admission? per year?
She finished with a call to action: How can patient safety be more integrated into policy and practice?
Panellists emphasised that patient safety is about much more than reducing mistakes, validating that HIFA has consistently highlighted how a failure to meet health workers’ needs, particularly their needs for reliable healthcare information, undermines quality of care and patient safety just as much as technical mistakes do. It is encouraging to witness that patient-safety thinking over recent decades has moved from “fix the errors” to “support the people who deliver care.”. Patient safet can be compromised as every stage in the journey, from prevention to presentation, referral and diagnosis. Through to multiple aspects of treatment and management. Communication and language are determinants of unsafe care also, including when the healthcare provider is not fluent in the language of the patient. There are safety issues with overworked, understaffed facilities (which was a factor even in the UK hospital where I saw the child with epiglottitis). They also noted the importance of regulation, which to me includes evidence-informed policymaking at large. If the NHS had introduced Haemophilus influenzae vaccine into routine schedules earlier (the vaccine was already available) then the child I saw would have been protected.
Panellists also drew atttention to the distress caused to patients by uncertainty, waiting for diagnosis and results of tests. Better communication and information is needed. A leaflet is not enough. (I suspect most patients worldwide do not even get a leaflet or its equivalent.) Patients have to repeat their history mutliple times to different health workers.
This made me think of the work of HIFA member Richard Fitten who is advocating for universal access to electronic health records. IF this can be achieved, it would have a major impact on patient safety. As Richard has said, the murderer GP Harold Shipman would not have been able to kill so many of his patients if their records had been universally available.
Patient organisations are vital to ensure lived experience is heard, to equip people with tools for advocacy, and to helpn avigate complex treatment choices. Services include discussion forums and helplines. Helpline. Global organisations provide connection and support for national organisations.
Throughout we heard about the importance of access to reliable healthcare information. Panellists also asked: How can people be better informed to make safe decisions?
Did you participate in the webinar today?
Or do any of the above points resonate with you? Please send a few words to the HIFA forum by email to: hifa@hifaforums.org
Many thanks, Neil
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org