Patient Safety is an urgent global public health issue, pertinent to all health systems around the world. According to the WHO, so-called «adverse events» caused by a lack of Patient Safety are among the ten most frequent causes of death and disability worldwide. A significant proportion of these incidents are preventable.
A lot has already been achieved at global level, notably with the success of the previous summits or the adoption of the «Global Action Plan on Patient Safety» in 2021. Despite broad awareness and widely known measures for the strengthening of patient safety, implementation is often inadequate or even non-existent. It is now time to start closing this «implementation gap». This is why the summit 2023 will follow the overarching slogan of «Less Harm, Better Care – from Resolution to Implementation».
The summit in Switzerland will revive the strong momentum created by the previous summits and once again bring together ministers, high-level representatives and experts from all around the world. It will mark another milestone in the international endeavor to continue fostering Patient Safety globally by identifying solutions and discussing implementation, including the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.