The World Patient Safety Day is observed globally on 17th September to create a global awareness for patient safety and urge people to show their commitment to making healthcare safer. The theme for World Patient Safety Day 2020: Health Worker Safety: A Priority for Patient Safety.
Objectives of World Patient Safety Day 2020:
- Raise global awareness about the importance of health worker safety and its interlinkages with patient safety.
- Engage multiple stakeholders and adopt multimodal strategies to improve the safety of health workers and patients.
- Implement urgent and sustainable actions by all stakeholders which recognize and invest in the safety of health workers, as a priority for patient safety.
- Provide due recognition of health workers’ dedication and hard work, particularly amid the current fight against COVID-19.
History of World Patient Safety Day
The 72nd World Health Assembly adopted resolution WHA 72.6 ‘Global action on patient safety’ on 25 May 2019. The resolution recognizes patient safety as a global health priority and endorses the establishment of World Patient Safety Day, to be observed annually on 17 September. The World Health Organization (WHO) observed the first WPSD in 2019.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Headquarters of WHO: Geneva, Switzerland.
- Director-general of WHO: Tedros Adhanom.