Patient safety is currently one of the most important priorities for health care systems worldwide and a fundamental prerequisite for providing high-quality, effective, and patient-centered health care services. Contemporary international strategies recognize that preventing adverse events and fostering a culture of safety require the cooperation of all stakeholders: patients, healthcare professionals, healthcare organization administrators, scientific bodies, and policymakers.

With this need in mind, the Euro-Mediterranean Institute for Quality and Safety in Health Services, Avedis Donabedian, launched an initiative in 2022 to establish a National Patient/ Service Recipients, with the goal of creating a permanent framework for cooperation, dialogue, knowledge exchange, and the promotion of actions that enhance the safety of health services provided. This initiative was formalized in the Founding Declaration for the creation of the Network, which was submitted for public consultation and addressed to all key stakeholders in the health care system.

Patient safety is not the responsibility of a single entity. It is a shared commitment of the entire healthcare system.”

The initiative is fully aligned with the World Health Organization’s Global Action Plan for Patient Safety 2021–2030, which calls on all countries to develop national mechanisms, collaborative networks, and strategic interventions to reduce preventable harm in health care. The establishment of national patient safety networks is recognized by the WHO as one of the key actions for promoting patient safety at the national level.

The central vision of the National Initiative is to develop a health system in which patients and recipients of health services are protected from preventable harm and adverse events, while healthcare professionals and organizations have the appropriate tools, knowledge, and mechanisms to continuously improve the safety and quality of care.

The initiative seeks to highlight patient safety as a key pillar of health policies, to strengthen the involvement of patients and their caregivers in processes to improve health services, and to promote the dissemination of best practices for the prevention, reporting, and managing adverse events. At the same time, it aims to strengthen collaboration among healthcare professionals, organizations, scientific bodies, patient associations, and regulatory authorities to develop common approaches and solutions to safety issues.

Key Pillars of the Initiative:

• Promoting a culture of safety in all healthcare settings.

• Strengthening the involvement of patients, families, and caregivers in safety issues.

• Raising awareness and providing training for healthcare professionals.

• Supporting the development of national and organizational patient safety strategies.

• Disseminating best practices and exchanging expertise.

• Collaboration with national and international patient safety organizations and networks.

• Support for actions related to the WHO Global Action Plan for Patient Safety.

This initiative reflects the Institute’s long-standing commitment to promoting quality, safety, and value in health care services and is directly linked to its participation in the Global Patient Safety Network (GPSN) of the World Health Organization, as well as with its overall efforts to support policies, organizations, and healthcare professionals in Greece and internationally.

To view the text of the Declaration, please click here. (pdf)