Appendix K. Implementation of the patient-safety policy
The Committee of Ministers, under the terms of Article 15.b of the Statute of the Council of Europe,
Considering that the aim of the Council of Europe is to achieve a greater unity between its members and that this aim may be pursued in particular by the adoption of common rules in the health field;
Considering that access to safe health care is the basic right of every citizen in all member states;
Recognising that although error is inherent in all fields of human activity, it is however possible to learn from mistakes and to prevent their reoccurrence and that health-care providers and organisations that have achieved a high level of safety have the capacity to acknowledge errors and learn from them;
Considering that patients should participate in decisions about their health care, and recognising that those working in health-care systems should provide them with adequate and clear information about potential risks and their consequences, in order to obtain their informed consent to treatment;
Recalling that Article 2 of the Council of Europe’s Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine (ETS No. 164) establishes the primacy of the human being over the sole interest of society or science, and recalling its Article 3 on the equitable access to health care of appropriate quality;
Considering that the methodology for the development and implementation of patient-safety policies crosses national boundaries and that their evaluation requires substantial resources and expertise and should be shared;
Recalling its Recommendations Nos. R (97) 5 on the protection of medical data, R (97) 17 on the development and implementation of quality improvement systems (QIS) in health care, and R (2000) 5 on the development of structures for citizen and patient participation in the decision-making process affecting health care, and its Resolution ResAP(2001)2 concerning the pharmacist’s role in the framework of health security, which explicitly suggests working in partnership with other health professionals;
Noting the relevance of the World Health Organisation (WHO) “Health for All” targets for the European Region (target 2) and of its policy documents on improving health and quality of life and having regard to its Health Assembly Resolution 55.18 (2002) on “Quality of care: patient safety”, which recognises the need to promote patient safety as a fundamental principle of all health systems;
Considering that patient safety is the underpinning philosophy of quality improvement and that all possible measures should therefore be taken to organise and promote patient-safety education and quality of health-care education;
Considering that the same principles of patient safety apply equally to primary, secondary and tertiary care and to all health professions as well as to health promotion, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, and other aspects of health care;
Recognising the need to promote open co-ordination of national and international regulations concerning research on patient safety,
Implementation of the patient-safety policy
See Appendix K (pdf-file) of Recommendation Rec(2006)7 of the Council of Europe
NOTE: text markers added to increase readability (not applied in the original).
A successful implementation of the patient-safety policy requires concerted activities of all stakeholders, and in particular:
a. health-care staff involvement from the very beginning, starting with the development of a patient-safety strategy;
b. prompt feedback to all health-care professionals and patients involved in a patient-safety incident at the local level;
c. putting emphasis on the development of a simple, non-bureaucratic safety enhancement system;
d in corporate health-care organisations, patient safety starts at the top; therefore management should offer leadership and support and implement a learning organisation, to assess the contribution of professionals;
e. raising citizens’ awareness through information for, and involvement of, citizens in patient-safety issues;
f. informing the public of results achieved by patient-safety actions (transparency);
g. obligation for health-care units to report on the implementation of patient-safety measures;
h. adjusting, if necessary, existing systems of care by medical, economic, legal and political measures to improve patient safety;
i. continuous quantitative assessment of the patient-safety policy at national and, where available, international level. It should be reported back in due time to enable the future updating of the policies inspired by the recommendation as well as the text of the recommendation itself;
j. the implementation of patient-safety policies should not be conditioned or inhibited by financial considerations. The safety of medication and interventions is the essential feature of health-care provision and its cost should be included in the general budget, instead of being covered by special tariffs and reimbursement schemes. Health-care providers should receive an adequate payment through normal channels, for their quality services;
k. member states can decide upon financing of research projects according to their perceived needs and established priorities.
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