Blackpool Teaching Hospitals is marking World Patient Safety Day on Friday, 17 September.
This year’s World Patient Safety Day is dedicated to the need to prioritise and address safety in maternal and newborn care, particularly around the time of childbirth, when most harm occurs. This is especially important in the context of disruption of health services due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has further compounded the situation.
Since women’s experiences during childbirth are also affected by issues of gender equity and violence, World Patient Safety Day highlights the important notion of respectful care and its linkages with safety.
The figures show that everyday across the world:
- Nearly 5,400 stillbirths occur
- 810 women lose their lives
- 6,700 newborns lose their lives.
The objectives of the international awareness day, from the World Health Organisation (WHO), are:
- Raise global awareness on the issues of maternal and newborn safety, particularly during childbirth.
- Engage multiple stakeholders and adopt effective and innovative strategies to improve maternal and newborn safety.
- Call for urgent and sustainable actions by all stakeholders to scale up efforts, reach the unreached and ensure safe maternal and newborn care, particularly during childbirth.
- Advocate the adoption of best practices at the point of care to prevent avoidable risks and harm to all women and newborns during childbirth.
Colleagues at BTH are being encouraged to wear something orange on Friday, and we will be sharing further information on our social media channels on the day.
For more information on the awareness day and its background, click here to see the WHO website.