The World Health Organization (WHO) has published the Global patient safety report 2024, which gives insight into the state of patient safety globally and highlights key areas for improvement.
The report found that since the Global Patient Safety Action Plan (GPSAP) 2021–2030 was adopted in 2021, the implementation of policies, programs, and strategic interventions to improve patient safety is on track, although progress against a number of core indicators has been limited.
The report found that only around one third of countries have developed national action plans and programs for patient safety, despite patient safety being recognized as a global health priority. At the same time, over 70% of countries have made commendable progress in working towards establishing national programs for the occupational health and safety of health workers.
Patients’ easy access to their medical records is fundamental to improving safety, and currently around 80% of countries have established procedures in place. However, globally, patient engagement and funding to implement patient safety interventions are areas of particular concern. Only 11% of countries reported that sufficient financial resources were allocated to implement all planned patient safety interventions.
In 2023, World Patient Safety Day focused on the critical importance of patient and family engagement. Despite this, the report revealed a lack of emphasis on patient and family engagement, with only 13% of countries having patient representatives on the governing board of the majority (> 60%) of hospitals.
