“As clinicians, our number one focus is Patient Safety,” said Dr. Zeev Goldik, President of the European Society of Anaesthesiology. “Since its launch in 2010, the Helsinki Declaration on Patient Safety in Anaesthesiology has been signed and/or supported by regional and national anaesthesiology societies across the globe, from Europe, North America, Latin America, Australasia, Asia and Africa. Our Society was the initiator and one of the founding societies of the European Patient Safety Foundation (EUPSF) in 2013. We have been closely following the remarkable efforts made by the Patient Safety Movement. The Movement reached out to us as a partner and we accepted with a commitment to lead the movement in Europe to eliminate preventable patient deaths.”
“The time for action is now,” said Dr. Jannicke Mellin-Olsen, Secretary of the ESA, and a driving force for the Helsinki Declaration. “Europe is formed by a very diverse group of countries, governments, policies and regulations. As anaesthesiologists, we are taking care of the best interests of the patients whenever they are at their most vulnerable. We need to work at many levels, including inspiring everyone in the healthcare sector to take action and make their own personal commitment to patient safety and zero preventable deaths. We cannot leave this issue to someone else to solve. We are excited to formally begin our relationship with the Patient Safety Movement and complement our position as the European expert and leader in patient safety and quality of care. Anaesthesiologists have the key and leading role in the implementation of safer patient care in perioperative medicine, before, during and after surgery.”
“We thank the ESA for joining the Patient Safety Movement. ESA is a thoughtful and powerful organization that with over 32,000 members will make a huge difference in eliminating preventable deaths worldwide,” said Joe Kiani, Founder of Patient Safety Movement. Mr. Kiani continued, “What clinicians do is incredible; they provide the miracle of healing. Yet, due to lack of safety processes, some of the patients don't make it home. Their families will never be the same again, and sometimes the world will never be the same again. Preventable deaths in hospitals is the 3rd leading cause of death. We lose 3 million people each year! It's a tragedy 3 million times over again. Yet, it's a huge opportunity because by definition they are preventable. But, it won't get fixed by itself, and it won't get fixed by a handful of patient safety experts. It has to be fixed by each and every one of us. All of us in the healthcare ecosystem must act now! Each of us has to decide that we have to be the one to take on this burden and lead the charge to zero preventable deaths in our hospitals. We can't afford to lose another friend, family or neighbor before their time.”
Source & Image Credit : European Society of Anaesthesiology
