JCI's European Region
The Council of the European Union issues
recommendation on patient safety
Last month the Council of the EU issued recommendations for programs and policies that support general patient safety and additional recommendations on prevention and control of health care associated infections (HAIs).
The policies and programs can’t come soon enough for the patient. “It is estimated that in Member States between 8% and 12% of patients admitted to hospital suffer from adverse events whilst receiving healthcare.” And, “The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has estimated that, on average, healthcare associated infections occur in one hospitalised patient in twenty, that is to say 4.1 million patients
a year in the EU, and that 37 000 deaths are caused every year as a result of such infections. ”
Recommendations issued by the Council of Europe address various topics, among which:
• Establishment and development of national policies and programmes on patient safety
• Empower and inform citizens and patients
• Establishment of a blame–free reporting on adverse events
Council recommendations refer to several sources of knowledge. WHO World Alliance for Patient Safety is one of them. In this context JCI is a WHO Collaborating Center charged in developing Patient Safety Solutions.
JCI may provide assistance to MoH of European Countries or other public agencies for implementing the new recommendation: in particular JCI can assist for the development of a country-wide program for improving patient safety.
International experience of JCI is a meaningful credential for also developing policies and procedures aimed at increasing cross border patient movements safety and healthcare quality.
Is your organization already planning for the implementation of this recommendation? How is it doing to improve patient safety? Email me to begin the discussion. We can learn from each others proven practices.
Ciao - Carlo
Carlo Ramponi, MD, MBA
Managing Director, European International Office
Joint Commission International
cramponi@jcrinc.comPrevious Notes from Carlo RamponiMay 2009 -
A Check-up on Turkey's Healthcare Yields a Good PrognosisMarch, 2009 -
Patient Safety in the HospitalNovember, 2008 -
Examining hospitals, country by country