In this blog post, which is the second in a three-part series, we share some of the highlights from our World Patient Safety Day 2023 event. Before reading this post you may wish to read Part 1 which focuses on how we planned for this event.

The World Patient Safety Day 2023 event, expertly chaired by Professor Bryony Dean Franklin, Director of the National Institute for Health and Care Research North West London Patient Safety Research Collaboration (NIHR NWL PSRC), started with keynote speeches from Professor the Lord Ara Darzi, Co-Director of the Institute of Global Health Innovation (IGHI), Dr Henrietta Hughes, England’s Patient Safety Commissioner, and Rosie Bartel, Patient Advocate, all of whom emphasised the importance of hearing patient’s voices.

Watch a video round-up of the World Patient Safety Day 2023 event, co-produced by a patient partner.

We captured the call for a culture change that puts patients first, and the importance of transparency for patients. Patients told us they wanted a softer patient-first method of communication, to avoid an adversarial approach.

“As I mentor patients and other caregivers to share their story, I also mentor people that work in healthcare to be co-designers. Today, I believe that’s one of the most important words in healthcare.”  

 

Rosie Bartel, Patient Advocate and keynote speaker.

Panel discussion

This was followed by a panel discussion on how clinicians, patients and carers can work together to support patients and their families to feel safe and engage with their care, chaired by Dr Tessa Richards, Ex-GP, British Medical Journal (BMJ) Associate Editor, and longstanding patient partnership advocate. The panellists were:

• Professor Jane O’Hara, Professor of Healthcare Quality and Safety, the University of Leeds and NIHR Yorkshire and Humber PSRC;
• Professor Amanda Ullman, Professor and Chair in Paediatric Nursing conjoint between the University of Queensland and Children’s Health Queensland;
• Asmahan Al Nidawi, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust (ICHT) Patient Safety Partner;
• Dr Michael Ramsay, Chief Executive Officer of the Patient Safety Movement Foundation.

Professor O’Hara explained how her central research interest is how to engage patients and families. She recognised how healthcare professionals are hugely under pressure (especially after a pandemic), but, where possible, we should prioritise taking time to build supportive relationships with patients and family members. For example, speaking to family members and patients at discharge to ensure the patient has clear information about any follow-on care, which could prevent them being re-admitted further down the line. Professor O’Hara highlighted the Learn Together project, to support patients and families through Patient Safety Incidence Investigations.

Keynote speech

The panel was followed by a keynote speech from Maria Caulfield, MP and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Women) and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Mental Health and Women’s Health Strategy). Maria made the point that to deliver on the goal that no patient should be harmed when they seek care, it is important to have a patient-centred approach that includes listening and acting to patients’ input. This will support NHS to deliver on the goals of the NHS Patient Safety Strategy. Watch a recording of the panel discussion and keynote speech.

As part of the event, we also produced two ‘digital goody-bags’ of resources, relevant to healthcare professionals and patients respectively. Access the resources for free:

• World Patient Safety Day 2023 Healthcare Professional resources
• World Patient Safety Day 2023 Patient resources

Read about the impact and lessons learned from the event in Part 3 of this blog post series.

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