The most fundamental principle in healthcare service is “First, do no harm”. Patients’ safety involves the crucial task of ensuring that they are protected from harm or injury during treatment. The Hippocratic Oath, which doctors had traditionally taken, includes a commitment to abstain from all deliberate wrongdoing and harm. However, recent revelations have raised concerns…
Patients and carers are key partners in the quest to make care safer, argues Tessa Richards
The UK government s commitment to implement “Martha’s rule,” is good news for patients.1 It will give patients and their families an explicit right to request a second opinion if a patient’s health condition is getting worse and they feel their concerns are not being taken seriously. A similar rule, called Ryan’s rule, introduced in Queensland, Australia in 2013 was spurred by the activism of the parents of a three year old boy who, as in Martha’s case, died a preventable death. It s been widely evoked, reported to have saved lives, and adopted in other states.2 Both rules are testimony to the determination, persistence, and skill of patient advocates to drive policy change to make care safer in the wake of personal tragedy.
Martha was 13 when she died two years ago from septic shock. In a profoundly moving 22 minute interview on Radio 4’s Today programme (broadcast on 4 Septembe
Doha, Qatar: The College of Pharmacy at Qatar University (QU) recently hosted a dynamic outreach event in commemoration of World Patient Safety Day (W.
Qatar University College Of Pharmacy Holds Outreach Event On Patient Safety Day menafn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from menafn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
We have recently had World Patient Safety Day, World Sepsis Day and the Patients’ Rights Conference. All placed an emphasis on bringing the role of the patient and the patient voice to the front and centre of healthcare. That is perplexing – surely healthcare is always about patients?