DOHA: The World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH), a global initiative of Qatar Foundation (QF), in partnership with Imperial College London, has launched a ‘Safer Care Accelerator’ programme to share global best practices in care and treatment to expedite improvement in patient safety.
Patient safety is the third biggest killer in the US and costs $1trn a year.
Errors in treatment and care claim about 400,000 lives each year and one in 10 patients is harmed while receiving hospital care.
Failure to address the growing concern of patient safety contributes to waste in the healthcare system and skyrocketing costs.
It is estimated that about one-third of US healthcare spending was consumed by waste in 2011.
Patient safety is a serious public health issue but often overlooked in national policy and global agendas. In response to this challenge, the ‘Safer Care Accelerator’, a year-long programme, will bring together an international group of healthcare organisations concerned with unprecedented costs — financial and physical — associated with poor patient safety.
Members will exchange insights, experiences and data on patient safety, culminating in the publication of a global report.
So far, 15 organisations in six continents have joined the effort, including Hamad Medical Corporation.
WISH is spearheaded by QF to inspire and diffuse healthcare innovation and best practice.
It is aligned with QF’s vision and mission to unlock human potential and reinforces Qatar’s pioneering role as an emerging centre for healthcare innovation.
The past two WISH summits have been held in Doha, attracting leaders from the global healthcare community. The ‘Safer Care Accelerator’ programme is part of WISH and Imperial College London’s Leading Health Systems Network (LHSN) initiative.
Professor Lord Darzi of Denham, Executive Chair, WISH, said, “Last year, over 5bn euros was spent on patients who contracted infections while receiving care in the EU alone.
“The WISH report offered valuable case studies and evidence to support policy level recommendations to start turning the tide on these figures.
“The LHSN Safer Care Accelerator allows healthcare providers to share their insights, learn about best practices and access key analytics.
“This multidisciplinary approach offers us a comprehensive toolkit from which to improve safety records and with it, patient experience.” The Peninsula
