Arshi Rafiq & Dr. Bilal A Bhat
A patient is a person who is receiving medical treatment from a doctor or hospital. Patient safety is the prevention and reduction of harm to patients in health care settings. It is very important at present that each and every healthcare system must always be vigilant when it comes to the healthcare and safety of the patients. The global landscape of health care is changing as health systems operate in increasingly complex environments with greater use of new technologies, medicines and treatments. The new treatments, technologies and care models can have therapeutic potential; they can also pose novel threats to safe care. Patient safety is now being recognized as a large and growing global public health challenge. Global efforts to reduce the burden of patient harm have not achieved substantial change over the past 15 years despite pioneering work in some health care settings. Safety measures – even those implemented in high-income settings – have had limited or varying impact, and most have not been adapted for successful application in low- and middle-income countries. All Member States and partners are striving to achieve universal health coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals. However, the benefits of increased access to health care have been undermined by service structures, cultures and/or behaviours that inadvertently harm patients and may lead to fatal consequences. Global action on patient safety will enable universal health coverage to be delivered while reassuring communities that they can trust their health care systems to keep them and their families safe.
Policy-makers will want to assure that, in planning and resourcing their vision of universal health coverage, they are not presiding over flawed and wasteful models of care. It is estimated that 64 million disability-adjusted life years are lost every year because of unsafe care worldwide. This means that patient harm due to adverse events is one of the top 10 causes of death and disability in the world. Available evidence suggests that annually 134 million adverse events due to unsafe care occur in hospitals in low- and middle-income countries, contributing to 2.6 million deaths. Approximately two thirds of the global burden of adverse events resulting from unsafe care, including the disability-adjusted life years lost from them, occurs in low- and middle-income countries.
Estimates indicate that in high-income countries, about 1 in 10 patients is harmed while receiving hospital care. Many medical practices and risks associated with health care are emerging as major challenges for patient safety and contribute significantly to the burden of harm due to unsafe care. For example: Medication errors are a leading cause of injury and avoidable harm in health care systems: globally, the cost associated with medication errors has been estimated at US$ 42 billion annually; Health care-associated infections prevalence in mixed patient populations of high-income countries is about 7.6% and about 10% in low- and middle-income countries, according to data from a number of countries. In addition, people with methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus are estimated to be 64% more likely to die than people with a non-resistant form of the infection. Resistant infections currently claim at least 50 000 lives each year across Europe and the United States of America; Unsafe surgical care procedures cause complications in up to 25% of patients; almost 7 million surgical patients annually suffer significant complications, 1 million of whom die during or immediately after surgery; Unsafe injections practices given in health care settings can transmit infections, including HIV and hepatitis B and C, and pose direct danger to patients and health care workers; they account for an estimated 9.2 million disability-adjusted life years lost per year worldwide; Diagnostic errors occur in about 5% of adults in ambulatory care settings, more than half of which have the potential to cause severe harm; most people will suffer a diagnostic error in their lifetime. The unsafe transfusion practices expose patients to the risk of adverse transfusion reactions and transmission of infections.
Data on adverse transfusion reactions from a group of 21 countries show an average incidence of 8.7 serious reactions per 100 000 distributed blood components.A review of 30 years of published data on safety in radiotherapy estimates that the overall incidence of errors is 1500 per 1 million treatment courses. Sepsis is frequently not diagnosed early enough to save a patient’s life; as these infections are often resistant to antibiotics, they can rapidly lead to deteriorating clinical conditions, affecting an estimated 31 million people worldwide and causing over 5 million deaths per year. Venous thromboembolism, Unsafe care in mental health settings, Failures in primary care, Unsafe health care, Health care delivery systems etc are concerns also. The 30 years of published data on safety in radiotherapy estimates that the overall incidence of errors is 1500 per 1 million treatment courses. Sepsis is frequently not diagnosed early enough to save a patient’s life; as these infections are often resistant to antibiotics, they can rapidly lead to deteriorating clinical conditions, affecting an estimated 31 million people worldwide and causing over 5 million deaths per year. Venous thromboembolism, Unsafe care in mental health settings, Failures in primary care, Unsafe health care, Health care delivery systems etc are concerns also. The global need for quality of care and patient safety was first put to the World Health Assembly in 2002. Resolution WHA55.18, entitled “Quality of care: patient safety”, urged Member States to pay the closest possible attention to the problem of patient safety. Since 2002, improving patient safety has been mandated by successive regional committee resolutions and WHO has been instrumental in shaping the patient safety agenda worldwide, providing leadership, setting priorities, convening experts, fostering collaboration, creating networks, issuing guidance, facilitating change, building capacity and monitoring trends. It is reported that there is seen a rise in patient harm in healthcare facilities, and causing a lot of people to get sick or even die. According to the available research, hospitalization causes 134 million adverse events each year in low- and middle-income countries, which ultimately result in 2.6 million fatalities. One in ten people receiving hospital care in high-income countries suffers injury. Even in high-income countries, approximately one in ten patients is harmed while receiving hospital care facilities. So, considering all the events and research, in the 72nd World Health Assembly, a resolution was adopted WHA 72.6 on ‘Global action on patient safety’ and Global Patient Safety Action Plan 2021-2030 as the main strategy for eliminating avoidable harm in health care. Under this, World Patient Safety Day was established in May 2019. World Patient Day is observed every year on 17 September.
“World Patient Safety Day reminds public functionaries overseeing the healthcare facilities that patient safety is a shared responsibility. Investing in it improves health outcomes, cuts costs, and boosts efficiency. The day raises public awareness and encourages cooperation among patients, healthcare workers, policymakers, and leaders to ensure safe healthcare for everyone.”
Patient safety is a very important part of healthcare as healthcare can sometimes be complicated. There has been a rise in patient harm in healthcare facilities, and it causes a lot of people to get sick or even die. It is reported that hospitalization causes millions of adverse events each year in low- and middle-income countries, which ultimately result in millions of fatalities. Even in high-income countries, approximately one in ten patients is harmed while receiving hospital care facilities. Each year, World Patient Safety Day is commemorated with a distinct theme. The theme for World Patient Safety Day 2023 was “Engaging patients for patient safety” while the previous year’s theme was “Medication Without Harm”. Each year, a new theme is selected for World Patient Safety Day to highlight a priority patient safety area needing urgent and concerted action. World Patient Safety Day 2024, was observed on September 17, focused on the theme: “Improving diagnosis for patient safety.” This theme highlights the crucial need for timely, accurate, and safe diagnosis to prevent harm and ensure better health outcomes for patients. World Patient Safety Day 2025 will focus on the theme “Safe care for every newborn and every child,” with the slogan “Patient safety from the start!”In 2025, the theme emphasizes the urgent need to ensure safe healthcare for newborns and children, particularly those from birth to nine years old. The slogan highlights the importance of early action to prevent harm and improve health outcomes throughout childhood. The campaign aims to:
(a) Raise Awareness: Increase global awareness of safety risks in pediatric and newborn care across all healthcare settings, focusing on the specific needs of children, families, and caregivers.
(b) Mobilize Stakeholders: Encourage governments, healthcare organizations, and civil society to implement sustainable strategies for safer care for newborns and children.
(c) Empower Families: Promote education and active participation of parents, caregivers, and children in healthcare decisions and safety practices.
(D) Advocate For Research: Strengthen research on patient safety in pediatric and newborn care to enhance safety practices, especially in high-risk settings. Children are particularly vulnerable to patient safety risks, with studies indicating that a significant percentage of adverse events in neonatal and pediatric care are preventable.
The campaign aims to address these risks by promoting safer clinical practices, better training for healthcare workers, and effective systems for reporting and learning from safety incidents. World Patient Safety Day 2025 serves as a crucial platform to unite stakeholders in the healthcare community to enhance patient safety and ensure that every child receives the safe and quality care they deserve.
Every child has the right to safe, quality health care — from the very beginning. Yet, newborns and young children face higher risks due to their rapid development, evolving health needs and different disease patterns. They rely on adults to speak up and make decisions for them. Children may also face added challenges depending on their socio-economic circumstances, such as not being able to get the care they need. These factors make them more susceptible to harm if care isn’t specifically adapted to their age, size, health condition and context.
A single safety incident can have lifelong consequences for a child’s health and development. That’s why World Patient Safety Day 2025 is dedicated to ensuring safe care for every newborn and child, with a special focus on those from birth to nine years old. This year’s slogan, “Patient safety from the start!”, emphasizes the urgent need to act early and consistently to prevent harm throughout childhood, and yield benefits across the life course. WHO calls on parents, caregivers, health practitioners, health care leaders, educators and communities, to unite in action to prevent avoidable harm in paediatric care and to build a safer, healthier future for every child, as part of the global effort to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.World Patient Safety Day is an opportunity to raise public awareness and foster collaboration between patients, health workers, policymakers and health care leaders to improve patient safety. Patient safety in Kashmir, like in many regions, faces several challenges. These include:
(a) Limited Healthcare Infra: Due to the ongoing political and social instability, the healthcare infrastructure in Kashmir is often underdeveloped, with a shortage of specialized hospitals, modern equipment, and trained medical personnel.
(b) Access To Healthcare: Remote areas in Kashmir may have limited access to medical facilities. Poor road connectivity, especially in harsh weather, can delay emergency medical services, increasing the risk to patient safety.
(c) Mental Health Issues: The prolonged conflict in the region has contributed to increased mental health issues such as PTSD, depression, and anxiety. However, there is often limited access to mental health care services, which compromises the safety and well-being of patients. It is reported that the World Health Organization recommends one doctor for every thousand patients; Kashmir has a doctor-patient ratio of 1:2000. Further, it is challenging to increase the quality and access to healthcare due to the lack of reliable data in Kashmir. However, the abrupt shift in the profile of diseases in Kashmir makes it urgent for the administration to improve programs that will improve healthcare in Kashmir.
It is encouraging that government is taking essential safety measures to ensure the safety of patients. Presence of CCTV cameras keep staff, patients and visitors safe. It is concluded that safety in healthcare is everyone’s business. The investment in patient safety positively impacts health outcome, reduces costs related to patient harm and improve system efficiency. In brief, World Patient Safety Day is an opportunity to raise public awareness and foster collaboration between patients, health workers, policymakers and health care leaders to improve patient safety.On patient safety day, messages focus on the right to safe healthcare, promoting systems to prevent harm, and emphasizing collaboration among patients, families, and healthcare providers.
(The authors frequently write on issues of public interest exclusively for the opinion pages of “ Kashmir Horizon” . The views, opinions and conclusions expressed in this article are those of the author and aren’t necessarily in accord with the views of “Kashmir Horizon”)
