Watch the recording:

Webinar content

• 00:00 – 01:08 | Introduction: meet the NIHR PSRCs – Prof Ramani Moonesinghe
• 01:08 – 17:42 | Non-communicable disease and patient safety: discussion with Professor Aidan Fowler, National Director of Patient Safety, NHS England
• 17:42 – 29:16 | Digital-first research and innovation to improve opioid prescribing – Matt Wilson (NIHR PSRC: Central London)
  
• 29:16 – 48:48 | Respiratory safety – Alice Turner (NIHR PSRC: Midlands)
  
• 48:48 – 58:50 | Enhancing safety and quality in perioperative care: Adam Hunt (NIHR PSRC: Central London)
  
• 58:50 – 01:11:56 | Safe diabetes care in hospital – Punith Kempegowda (NIHR PSRC: Midlands)
  
• 01:11:56 – 1:12:52 | Wrap up and close

About World Patient Safety Day 2026

World Patient Safety Day, observed annually on 17 September, is a global initiative by the World Health Organization (WHO) that brings together patients, healthcare providers, policymakers, and the public to demonstrate their commitment to improving patient safety worldwide. In 2026, the campaign focuses on safe care for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), encouraging communities, health practitioners, organisational leaders and policymakers to work together to develop solutions that address patient safety challenges and reduce harm.

People living with NCDs, such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and respiratory conditions, often require ongoing care across multiple settings over long periods of time, and across the life course. This can create multiple points at which safety risks may arise, from prevention and diagnosis through to treatment, long-term management and self-care.

Improving safety in NCD care requires addressing risks related to the complexity of care, strengthening health systems through a primary health care approach and tackling wider determinants that can increase the risk of harm. The campaign also highlights the importance of engaging people with lived experience in the design and delivery of NCD services and in their own care.

Special podcast episode
World Patient Safety Day 2026: Safe care for non-communicable diseases

To mark World Patient Safety Day 2026, the NIHR PSRC: Greater Manchester interviewed Prof Alarcos Cieza, Head of Management of Noncommunicable Diseases (NCD) at the Department of NCDs and Mental Health at the World Health Organization (WHO), and Prof Maria Panagioti from The University of Manchester and NIHR PSRC: Greater Manchester.

The conversation explores a WHO-commissioned meta-analysis led by Prof Maria Panagioti, which brought together evidence from 63 studies involving around 2.5 million patients across 23 countries. The findings suggest that around one in six patients receiving care for non-communicable diseases experience preventable harm, with medication-related problems being the most common source of harm.

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