Patient Safety
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Posted by Judy Arbique Oct 28, 2006 |
This week marked the second annual Canadian Patient Safety Week, an initiative of the Canadian Patient Safety Institute (CPSI) to improve patient safety in Canadian healthcare institutions. It is estimated that approximately 220,000 healthcare-related infections occur each year in Canadian healthcare facilities, 8,000 of whom will die. It is estimated that half of these infections could be prevented by healthcare workers washing their hands properly between patients.
It is no wonder then that the theme for this year's patient safety campaign was Patient Safety: Its in Your Hands. Clean them well. Clean them often. If you were a visitor to a Canadian healthcare institution this week, hopefully you witnessed one of the many initiatives for improving awareness of patient safety and encouraging proper, consistent handwashing. The CPSI offers a number of ideas for healthcare workers and institutions to promote patient safety on the Canadian Patient Safety Week website. You may have seen large hands on washroom doors and in public areas reminding patients and healthcare workers to wash their hands. And, you may also have seen healthcare workers wearing Ask Me! buttons encouraging patients and visitors to ask questions about your care.
I'd love to hear from you - were you a visitor or a patient to a Canadian healthcare institution this week? Were you even aware that this was Canadian Patient Safety Week? What initiatives did you see being used to promote Canadian Patient Safety Week? Perhaps we can provide some feedback to the Canadian Patient Safety Institue on how good a job they are doing promoting patient safety awareness to the Canadian public!
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