New Patient Safety report profiles and recognises importance of safe nurse staffing to patient safety

Geneva, Switzerland, 17 June 2019 – The International Council of Nurses (ICN) has welcomed the recently released report from the 4th Global Ministerial Summit on patient safety held last March in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The report presents the main highlights of the two-day Summit with specific recommendations from each track, as well as the main addresses that took place during the ministerial day. The ministerial summit concluded with the presentation of the Jeddah Declaration for Patient Safety which sets out 11 actionable statements for international standards and guidelines that aim to address patient safety issues of global significance.

Howard Catton, ICN’s Chief Executive Officer, who attended the March Summit, said:

‘We welcome the recognition in this report of the intimate relation between nurse staffing and patient safety. ICN sees these as two sides of the same coin. We must ensure safe staffing levels in order to ensure patient safety.’

A resolution on “Global Action on Patient Safety” was recently endorsed during the 72th World Health Assembly, where ICN gave an intervention urging governments to invest in safe nurse staffing as a priority intervention to addressing patient safety. As nursing care spans all areas of care delivery, nurses are well-placed to prevent harm to patients in several key areas where unsafe care occurs. ICN promotes a just culture of safety that supports staff to openly and honestly report near misses and incidents without fear, allowing for future learning and improvements. As such, we encourage the development of patient safety learning.

Dr Abdulelah Alhawsawi, Director General of the Saudi Patient Safety Center, which launched the report, will give a keynote presentation at the ICN Congress in Singapore, 27 June to 1 July on The Alignment Of “Safeties”: Nursing Safety for Patient Safety. Dr Alhawsawi will address the over 5000 delegates at the Congress to discuss the important role of nurses in building strong and resilient health systems that contribute to the achievement of a universal health coverage without harm.

A white paper on Nurse Staffing Levels for Patient Safety and Workforce Safety which will discuss indispensable pre-requisites for nurses to ensure safety of patients will also be launched at the ICN Congress.

Note for Editors

The International Council of Nurses (ICN) is a federation of more than 130 national nurses’ associations representing the millions of nurses worldwide. Operated by nurses and leading nursing internationally, ICN works to ensure quality care for all and sound health policies globally.

For further information please contact

Gyorgy Madarasz, Press Officer, International Council of Nurses, Tel: +41 22 908 01 16

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