Global Patient Safety Action Plan 2021-2030

The Global Patient Safety Action Plan 2021-2030:Towards eliminating avoidable harm in health care was launched on 4 August 2021 and is available here. Participants from all over the world attended the Action Plan Launch event, headed by Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization.

The Launch event was followed by a two-day global consultation - Partners in action: Engaging stakeholders for implementing the Global Patient Safety Action Plan 2021–2030. Around 120 experts and partners deliberated and worked in breakout groups to identify priorities and develop modalities for implementing the global action plan for the next biennium (2022-2023). 

WHO Deputy Director-General, Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab, greatly appreciated the contribution of all the participants and called for working together to take concrete steps for the implementation of the action plan. 

Dr Neelam Dhingra Kumar, Head Unit of WHO Patient Safety Flagship conducted the consultation. Distinguished speakers including - Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt and Sir Liam Donaldson, Dr Evelyn Wesangula from Kenya Government, Dr Kok Hian Tan from Singapur’s Institute on Quality and Safety in Healthcare, Mr Joe Kiani from World Patients’Association, Dr Ratna Devi and Dr Dr Mondher Letaief from WHO East Mediterranean Office spoke about the journey to create the Global Patient Safety Action Plan 2021–2030, and shared the perspectives of government, health care facility and system, stakeholders and WHO. The presentations and more details here. 
WONCA Working Party on Quality and Safety participated on Experts’ discussion. Participants worked in 8 breakout groups regarding the 4 perspectives of the Plan: Governments, Healthcare facilities, Stakeholders (as WONCA) and the WHO Secretariat. 

The plan is organized in 7 Strategic Objectives (SO): SO1 Policies to eliminate avoidable harm in healthcare; SO2 Highly reliability systems; SO3 Safety of clinical processes; SO4 Patient and family engagement; SO5 Health worker education, skills and safety; SO6 information, research and risk management; SO7 Synergy, partnership and solidarity.  

Each of the 35 strategies included in the global action plan suggest actions for WHO and now is the time to set our priorities for the next two years.
Finally, Dr Hardeep Singh, gave a lecture on developing indicators to monitoring and reporting to assess milestones for progress of implementing Global Patient Safety Action Plan: 1) to establish a global reporting mechanism on a minimum set of core indicators and targets. 2) to help assess implementation progress at global, regional, and national levels. 3) to build a basis for WHO reporting and accountability to World Health Assembly.

The global action plan will provide strategic direction to countries and health care facilities to reduce avoidable harm in health care, with a vision of “a world in which no one is harmed in health care, and every patient receives safe and respectful care, every time, everywhere.” WONCA is committed to collaborate to the deployment through its global family doctor network.


Dr José Miguel Bueno Ortiz, Secretary of the Working Party on Quality & Safety