PFPS Meeting Summary
Summary of Patients for Patient Safety (PFPS) Strategic meeting held 26 – 27 January 2010, Geneva, attended by the PFPS steering group, 11 PFPS Champions and a number of others including secretariat staff.
The main purpose of the meeting was to give participants an opportunity to share their experience so far as champions, including the challenges and regional priorities, and to have open discussion on future strategies for the PFPS programme. Participants also discussed preliminary findings of the recent PFPS Impact Analysis, and heard presentations on some of the latest Patient Safety Programme initiatives and specifically on how PFPS could become more involved in these areas.
In the welcoming speech Susan Sheridan, PFPS Expert Lead, shared with the group that since the first PFPS workshop in November 2005 in which 19 participants produced the London Declaration, there had been 15 workshops in 11 countries involving over 600 individuals and thousands had been touched through the various networks of champions.
The Patient Safety Programme (PSP) Coordinator, Ed Kelley, provided an overview of the way PSP has evolved organically since the original World Health Assembly resolution in 2002 to improve quality of care, and is currently going through a restructuring process, so the outcomes from the meeting can help to inform that process.
The presentations from the regions highlighted the variety of activity that has already taken place, including training courses for patients and healthcare workers, journal articles, media campaigns, expanding patients’ organizations and developing patient information materials. Common challenges included a lack of support and guidance from PFPS, low level of political commitment and understanding of patient safety in many countries, capacity of healthcare systems and funding, but differences between countries were recognised and participants expressed a need for regional strategies that integrate with WHO objectives as well as a programme wide plan. Awareness raising, patient education, networking and information exchange and creating partnerships were the main priorities, with many specifically interested in research, incident reporting and further promoting the global challenges.
Preliminary findings from the impact analysis mirrored the level of champion activity expressed by the meeting participants and indicated that most champions valued the association with WHO and being part of a wider network. Many called for increased opportunities for interaction with other champions and involvement with the other PSP programme areas, along with the need for practical tools and more support from PFPS to help them in their advocacy work.
The presentations from PSP programme leads highlighted opportunities for champion involvement, specifically in the save lives clean hands campaign, development of mother / baby tool, APPS in AFRO, reporting and learning programme and also the opportunity of an introduction to WHO regional and country offices. There was also interest in the research and safe surgery programmes and PFPS will look further at potential involvement in these areas.
The discussions and suggestions from the regional presentations, along with findings from the impact analysis and opportunities from other PSP initiatives will all feed into the creation of a strategic plan and operational priorities for PFPS.
