World Patient Safety Day (September 17th)

Today is World Patient Safety Day and our Hospital is joining the pledge to take action to reduce patient harm in a health care setting.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared September 17th as World Patient Safety Day. Globally, 134 million adverse events contribute to 2.6 million deaths each year due to unsafe care. At 28,000 deaths per year in Canada, patient harm ranks third in mortality after cancer and heart disease.

World Patient Safety Day helps to raise awareness of the need to formulate policies, create a safe work culture, and provide care where the safety of patients is a priority. Each year, a new theme is selected to shed light on a priority patient safety area where action is needed to reduce avoidable harm in health care and achieve universal health coverage.

Considering the significant burden of harm women and newborns are exposed to due to unsafe care, this year’s World Patient Safety Day is dedicated to the need to prioritize and address safety in maternal and newborn care, particularly around the time of childbirth, when most harm occurs.

Like all departments at our Hospital, the Labour and Delivery team is committed to patient safety. Dr. Laura Power, Chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology at our Hospital, explained how Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre is a hub for maternity and infant care for Northwestern Ontario. “We are committed to safe perinatal care,” stated Dr. Power. “Parents have the choice of care providers, including Obstetricians, Family Physicians, Midwives, and Indigenous midwives. Pediatricians also provide more intensive services for newborns in need of extra care. We work as a team to make our Hospital a safe place for childbirth. In addition, our Hospital provides support to several rural communities that provide maternity and perinatal care so that parents can remain as close to home as possible.”

Thank you to Dr. Power, Dr. Jumah (Obstetrician Gynecologist), Linda, Trisha and Alli (Registered Nurses), in addition to all the Women and Children’s services for making patient safety a priority.