Patients for Patient Safety (PFPS) is a programme of WHO Flagship Initiative “A Decade of Patient Safety 2021-2030” that engages and empowers patients and families and facilitates their partnership with health professionals and policy-makers to make health care services safer worldwide. Patient is the only one person gone through his/her entire care process: Her/his and family voice should be heard fully.
Since the inception of the PFPS programme in 2005, PFPS advocates have promoted efforts for patient engagement in patient safety at the local, national and global levels. They developed the London Declaration, which enunciates the common vision, guiding principles, and commitment to positive engagement of the PFPS programme.
PFPS advocates have played critical roles in patient and family engagement by:
- raising awareness of various areas of patient safety (including medication safety);
- supporting and educating patients and families at facility, local, and community levels;
- participating in advisory boards at health care facilities;
- sharing their personal experiences with medical students, hospital staff, and patient groups;
- creating patient safety organizations and communities;
- supporting WHO’s advocacy work on patient safety, including the celebration of World Patient Safety Day and World Hand Hygiene Day in their own countries;
- organizing patient safety workshops and events; and
- representing the patient and family at professional conferences.
PFPS advocates have significantly contributed to the work of WHO in many ways, including the development of educational and communication materials for patients such as Patient Information for Surgical Safety and 5 Moments for Medication Safety, and through regular participation as representatives of the patient voice in WHO activities. PFPS advocates participate in the WHO PFPS Network, an electronic forum under the umbrella of the Global Patient Safety Network that allows PFPS Network members to exchange information, share best practices, and plan collective activities for patient and family engagement.
Recognizing the crucial role of patients in the global advancement of patient safety, WHO is now seeking to strengthen and expand the PFPS Network by inviting ‘expression of interest’ of new participants including patients, family members, and health workers from countries across the world, interested to join the Network. We are looking for engagement and participation of patients and families (especially those who have been affected by adverse events) in the delivery of safer health care, including capacity-building initiatives, networks, and associations, and to work with them and civil society, to use their experience of safe and unsafe care positively in order to build safety and harm-minimization strategies.