World Patient Safety Day 2023: Date, history, significance and theme this year

World Patient Safety Day 2023: Here's all you need to know about the date, history, significance and theme this year for World Patient Safety Day

Patient safety is a critical aspect of healthcare hence, World Patient Safety Day was established by the World Health Organization (WHO) to raise awareness about patient safety and to promote actions to elevate the safety of healthcare worldwide. Patient safety focuses on the prevention of errors, adverse events and harm to patients during the delivery of medical services.

World Patient Safety Day 2023: Date, history, significance and theme this year (Photo by Twitter/AsiaMD2)

Date:

World Patient Safety Day is observed annually on September 17.

History:

During the 72nd World Health Assembly that took place at Switzerland's Geneva in May 2019, member states of the WHO recognised the importance of patient safety as a global health priority and a resolution titled "Global Action on Patient Safety" was adopted. This resolution emphasised the need to enhance patient safety at the global level and called for the establishment of World Patient Safety Day as an annual observance hence, World Patient Safety Day was officially inaugurated on September 17, 2019 to commemorate the anniversary of the adoption of the resolution on patient safety at the World Health Assembly and September 17th was designated as the annual date for this observance.

Significance:

World Patient Safety Day aims to increase awareness about the importance of patient safety in healthcare settings, provides a platform (for governments, healthcare organisations and patient advocacy groups) to advocate for policies and practices that prioritise patient safety and encourages sharing of best practices, experiences and research related to patient safety to promote learning and improvement in healthcare. The day aims to empower and encourage patients and their families to actively participate in their healthcare, ask questions and understand their rights in healthcare settings and fosters global collaboration among healthcare institutions, governments and organisations to work together to improve patient safety standards and practices.

Theme:

Each year, World Patient Safety Day has a specific theme to highlight various aspects of patient safety such as medication safety, healthcare worker safety and patient engagement hence, according to the World Health Organization, the theme this year for World Patient Safety Day is “Engaging patients for patient safety”, in recognition of the crucial role that patients, families and caregivers play in the safety of health care.