What comes to mind when you think about healthcare harm?
Canadian Patient Safety Week 2024
And that’s a wrap on Canadian Patient Safety Week 2024! A huge thank you to everyone who participated and made efforts to broaden your understanding of healthcare harm. Our materials and resources will remain available to help you keep exploring and acting.
Let’s broaden our understanding of harm, together
Recognizing and reducing healthcare harm matters to those receiving and delivering care in any setting. As part of championing Rethinking Patient Safety, we encourage everyone to broaden their understanding of healthcare harm as an important step in delivering safer care for all.
A complex healthcare system
Healthcare is incredibly complex. It is delivered by many different people engaging with many processes across various settings and through transitions in care. Sometimes, things go wrong — and this may result in harm. The factors involved can be multiple and varied.
Defences
The system as a whole is safe because it involves multiple layers of defence that combine and overlap to support the safe delivery of care.
Contributing factors
The defences that help promote safe care, when missing or weakened, can become contributing factors when things go wrong. Contributing factors are often interrelated, complex and rarely the result of a single issue. Examples include:
Categories of safety incidents
Incidents can result from a variety of actions or inactions while receiving and delivering care. These safety incidents can be broadly classified as:
Harm experienced by a person
Harm can include more than physical injuries. The person who experiences harm is often best positioned to define and describe it.
Person experiencing harm
People receiving and delivering healthcare across the continuum can experience harm.
Impact of harm
Healthcare harm can have cascading and long-lasting impacts on people and communities. Understanding and supporting those harmed by the healthcare system can help restore trust and contribute to healing. Their ongoing involvement is essential to shape our approach to safer care.
Let’s broaden our understanding of harm, together
Recognizing and reducing healthcare harm matters to those receiving and delivering care in any setting. As part of championing Rethinking Patient Safety, we encourage everyone to broaden their understanding of healthcare harm as an important step in delivering safer care for all.
Engage teams with our activity card
Use our healthcare harm activity card with your team to stimulate discussion and thoughtful reflection that inspires proactive action to prevent harm and create safer care for all.
Do a team activity
Facilitate a thoughtful discussion with our activity card.
Enroll in Patient Safety Essentials
Understand the core of patient safety with our free, self-directed e-learning module.
Rethinking Patient Safety Guide
Get informed and kick-start conversations with this statement and discussion guide.
Infographic
An infographic to help you broaden your understanding of healthcare harm.
Webinar series
Missed any of the webinars in our series? Don’t worry—we have the full videos to help inspire reflection and action with your teams here.
Highlighting Patient Safety Champions
Safety champions come in many forms. As part of Canadian Patient Safety Week, we’re shining a light on a few in various healthcare settings.
It doesn’t end with CPSW
CPSW 2024 is over but the chance to champion safer care definitely isn’t. Read our blog thanking everyone who participated and to learn how to keep the momentum going.
Thanks for your ongoing commitment to safer care
We hope the Canadian Patient Safety Week 2024 resources above help you foster a curious mindset year-round. We look forward to seeing and partnering with you again for CPSW 2025!
Thanks for your ongoing commitment to safer care
We hope the Canadian Patient Safety Week 2024 resources above help you foster a curious mindset year-round. We look forward to seeing and partnering with you again for CPSW 2025!
