The COVID-19 pandemic has unveiled the serious difficulties health workers are facing worldwide while responding to this unprecedented global public health challenge. Therefore to mark World Patient Safety Day 2020 patients and the global health community will mark this globa campaign to emphasize the importance of health worker safety as a priority for patient safety.

The overall objectives of World Patient Safety Day are to enhance global understanding of patient safety, increase public engagement in the safety of health care and promote global actions to enhance patient safety and reduce patient harm. 

Members of the global health community are urged to develop national and local campaigns based on this global campaign, to support and observe the Day around the world to make it successful, and to commit and taking urgent and sustainable action to recognize health worker safety as a prerequisite for patient safety.

Various activities on the day

-IAPO will mark the day through day 2 of our virtual Global Patients Congress programme which has been designed to highlight the theme so aptly underscored by the COVID-19 pandemic that without health worker safety, there can be no patient safety. We will use the day to have focused discssion on the next steps for taking urgent and sustainable action to recognize health worker safety as a prerequisite for patient safety. Read more

-WHO is organizing a Global Virtual Event on 17 September at 14:00-17:00 CEST. The event entitled “One world: Global solidarity for health worker safety and patient safety” will be structured in the following six sessions:

• Opening by DDG Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab and Rt Hon Mr Jeremy Hunt
• WHO global initiatives related to Health Worker Safety, including the launch of technical resources
• Regional and Country Stories
• Patient, occupational health and professional organizations initiatives; and testimonies by health workers and patients
• Concluding remarks and summary by Sir Liam Donaldson and Dr Neelam Dhingra
• Closing by DDG Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab and Dr Edward Kelley