Patient safety is shared responsibility
Ghana joins the global community today to celebrate World Patient Safety Day 2025.
This year’s theme, “Safe care for every newborn and every child”, serves as a poignant reminder of the need to prioritise patient safety, particularly for the most vulnerable members of our society.
The celebration of the day is rooted in the fundamental principle of medicine – “First, do no harm”.
Its objectives are to increase public awareness and engagement, enhance global understanding and drive global action to improve patient safety.
According to the World Patients Alliance, newborns and children face disproportionately high risks of harm in health care, especially in intensive care units, surgical settings, and during medication administration.
Research shows that up to 97 per cent of adverse events in neonatal care are preventable, and many such harms stem from unsafe childbirth, infections, diagnostic delays, and medication errors.
Studies report rates adverse events as high as 91.6 per cent in paediatric intensive care settings and up to 53.8 per cent in general care settings.
Patient safety is a critical aspect of health care that requires attention and action from healthcare providers, policymakers and the public.
In this country, where healthcare resources are often limited, ensuring patient safety is crucial to preventing avoidable harm and improving health outcomes.
Incidents abound of how medication errors, such as dispensing wrong medication, infusions and hospital-acquired infections, have either killed or have had life-time health effects on patients.
Some families are still dealing with illnesses, grieving loved ones or seeking justice in the law courts because the safety of a patient was compromised at a point in time in a health institution.
The Daily Graphic believes that patient safety is of serious concern.
Several issues affect the quality of health care in the country. For instance, infrastructure deficits where healthcare facilities often face challenges, such as the lack of equipment and supplies, could compromise patient safety.
The issue of a shortage of healthcare professionals and a skills gap could also lead to errors and adverse events.
The fact that there is limited patient engagement and awareness, and also that patients are not mindful of their rights regarding patient safety issues, pose a threat to safe health care in the country.
Since this year’s theme focuses on newborns and every child, the country needs to prioritise the safety of newborns and children who cannot speak for themselves and who are particularly vulnerable to medical errors and adverse events.
This requires strengthening healthcare systems, improving infection control practices, and promoting safe care practices.
As the World Health Organisation (WHO) notes, “strengthening safety in paediatric and newborn care is essential to achieving universal health coverage and the Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 target of ending preventable deaths of newborns and children under the age of five.
It also aligns with global efforts such as the ‘Every Woman, Every Newborn, Everywhere Action Plan’, the ‘Child Survival Action Initiative’ and the ‘Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health 2016-2030’.
The paper urges the government and all stakeholders to come together to address the challenges facing the healthcare system, such as upgrading healthcare facilities and equipment to help reduce blunders and improve patient safety.
There is also the need to provide ongoing training and education for healthcare professionals to keep them abreast of best practices and improve patient care.
Educating patients about their rights and encouraging patient-centred care and open communication to build trust are also essential in addressing the challenges.
Patients must be empowered to play an active role in their care; they should know that it is all right to ask questions about any care or service they receive.
