Patient safety and the prevention of healthcare associated infections

SUMMARY OF:

Recommendation – patient safety, including preventing and controlling healthcare associated infections

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE RECOMMENDATION?

• Patient safety during treatment is a major public health challenge and generates considerable cost. Every year, 8 to 12 % of patients admitted to hospital suffer from complications related to care which they have received in hospitals in the European Union (EU).
• This recommendation calls for the introduction of a framework to improve patient safety* and prevent adverse events*, in particular healthcare-associated infections* which may be contracted in healthcare institutions.

KEY POINTS

Patient safety

The establishment and development of national policies and programmes on patient safety

• EU countries should designate competent authority responsible for patient safety on their territory. This measure would contribute, inter alia, to highlighting patient safety as a priority issue in health policies and programmes at national as well as regional and local levels.
• In order to improve patient safety, more efficient systems, processes and tools in the area of healthcare safety should be developed. Safety standards and practices applying to healthcare should be reviewed regularly.
• Health professional organisations should also be encouraged to have a more active role in patient safety.
• An approach should be introduced to promote safe practices so as to prevent the most commonly occurring adverse events such as medication-related events, healthcare associated infections and complications related to surgical intervention.

Making patients part of the process

Patients should be involved in defining patient safety policies through the associations representing them. They should, moreover, receive information on safety standards which are in place as well as complaints procedures and available remedies or redress. Patients should also be enabled to acquire a basic knowledge of patient safety.

Improving information and introducing reporting systems

• The introduction or improvement of existing reporting systems should enable information to be provided on the extent, types and causes of incidents related to patient care. Such systems should be designed to encourage healthcare workers to report any adverse event. They would also allow patients and their families to share their experiences.
• These systems would also enable other risk management systems in the field of health safety to be supplemented, such as those concerning pharmacovigilance.

Education and training of healthcare workers

• Healthcare workers have an important role to play in improving patient safety. It is therefore essential that they have multidisciplinary training and education in this field. Undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, continuing professional development and on-the-job training for healthcare workers should therefore include the issue of patient safety.
• All healthcare workers should be duly informed of existing risks and safety measures.

Sharing knowledge, experience and best practice at EU level

• It would be relevant to develop a system to classify and assess patient safety at EU level. This approach requires the preparation of common definitions and terminology as well as comparable indicators which would allow EU countries to make mutual use of information and experience acquired at national level.
• This exchange of knowledge and best practice would also enable patient safety policies to be improved and to better target research in this field.

Prevention of healthcare associated infections

A strategy to prevent and control healthcare associated infections should be established in order to:

• implement prevention and control measures at national or regional level;
• improve the prevention and control of infection in healthcare institutions;
• establish active surveillance systems;
• foster education and training of healthcare workers;
• facilitate access to information for patients.

BACKGROUND

• On average, healthcare associated infections occur in one hospitalised patient in 20, that is to say 4.1 million patients a year in the European Union, and cause 37 000 deaths. Many of these deaths could be avoided. This recommendation builds upon the work of the World Health Organization with a view to proposing a framework for patient safety.
• For more information, see:
  • ‘Patient safety’ on the European Commission's website.

* KEY TERMS

MAIN DOCUMENT

Council Recommendation of 9 June 2009 on patient safety, including the prevention and control of healthcare associated infections (2009/C 151/01) (OJ C 151, 3.7.2009, pp. 1–6)

last update 30.11.2016