Patient safety, including the prevention and control of healthcare associated infections - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 151/1

Article 152 of the Treaty provides that Community action, which shall complement national policies, shall be directed towards improving public health, preventing human illness and diseases, and eliminating sources of danger to human health.

It is estimated that in Member States between 8 % and 12 % of patients admitted to hospital suffer from adverse events whilst receiving healthcare (4).

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has estimated that, on average, healthcare associated infections occur in one hospitalised patient in 20, that is to say 4,1 million patients a year in the EU, and that 37 000 deaths are caused every year as a result of such infections.

Poor patient safety represents both a severe public health problem and a high economic burden on limited health resources. A large proportion of adverse events, both in the hospital sector and in primary care, are preventable with systemic factors appearing to account for a majority of them.

This recommendation builds upon, and complements, work on patient safety carried out by the World Health Organisation (WHO) through its World Alliance for Patient Safety, the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The Community, through the seventh framework programme for research and development (5), supports research in health systems, in particular in the quality of healthcare provision under the Health Theme, including a focus on patient safety. The latter is also given particular attention under the Information and Communication Technology Theme.

The Commission, in its White Paper ‘Together for Health: A Strategic Approach for the EU 2008-2013’ of 23 October 2007, identifies patient safety as an area for action.

Evidence suggests that Member States are at different levels in the development and implementation of effective and comprehensive patient safety strategies (6). Therefore, this recommendation intends to create a framework to stimulate policy development and future action in and between Member States to address the key patient safety issues confronting the EU.

Patients should be informed and empowered by involving them in the patient safety process. They should be informed of patient safety standards, best practices and/or safety measures in place and on how they can find accessible and comprehensible information on complaints and redress systems.

Member States should set up, maintain or improve comprehensive reporting and learning systems so that the extent and causes of adverse events can be captured in order to develop efficient solutions and interventions. Patient safety should be embedded in the education and training of healthcare workers, as the providers of care.

Comparable and aggregate data should be collected at Community level to establish efficient and transparent patient safety programmes, structures and policies, and best practices should be disseminated among the Member States. To facilitate...