Conference in Porto — Patient Safety Research

A major international conference focusing on the future of patient safety research in Europe. The conference aims to provide a scientific forum to:

• Describe current research in patient safety and allied fields
• Demonstrate for policy makers where evidence from research can inform policy
• Build proposals for future research and a Europe-wide research agenda
• Create international collaborative research networks

The programme, over three days, will explore existing research activity in Europe , and develop capacity for future research, using innovative events including café discussions, science workshops, discussion of posters and plenary sessions. The conference will promote dialogue between researchers and policy-makers and seek on the final day to make conclusions for further action.

1st International Summer Practicum on Patient Safety

The European Society for Quality in Health Care (ESQH), Council of Europe (CoE) and Polish Society for Quality Promotion in Health Care (TPJ) conducted the international workshop on RCA, HFMEA, medication safety and indicators for safe patient care.

European Regional Workshop Patients for Patirnt Safety

Patients for Patient Safety in collaboration with the WHO European Regional Office held a regional "Patients for Patient Safety" workshop between 3 – 6 September in Dublin, Ireland.

Patients and consumers from across the European region willing to work as part of a national team to promote patient involvement in patient safety and bring about change were welcomed at the event.

Meetings with Healthcare Proffesionals
(public health managers, physicians, nurses, pharmacists)

In August-September, 2007 task force of “Georgian Alliance for Patient Safety” met healthcare proffesionals from Tbilisi national Center of Therapy, Batumi Republican Hospital and Maternity House, Hospital #1, Republican Center of maternal and Child health, center of Family medicine, and Z.Tskhakaia Interventional Center of West Georgia to discuss about “Medical errors – the most closed theme”. At the meting all attendants were actively involved in the discussion, they expressed their positive and negative attitudes towards current situation and future plans. According to their opinion healthcare proffesionals are permanently under risk and not properly defended, that’s why they hide and avoid discussion of occurring medical errors in practice.

Participants talked about the existing barriers and problems in healthcare system. They discussed cases caused by mistakes made because of similar packing and names of some drugs (e.g. Ketoral-Ketonal, Levorin-Lerivon, Istenon-Listenon etc.). Also some medical errors are due to financial and technical crisis in medical settings, biurocratic management, low level of education of some physicians and pharmacists, non-adequate attitude of society towards healthcare service (unnecessary aggression and/or unwarranted trust), absence of habit and conditions to wash hands properly, lack of training courses and access to modern scientific literature and publications, ignoring of drug storage conditions and absence of internal standards.