Statement to WHA74: FIGO on patient safety
FIGO submitted the following written and verbal statements to the 74th World Health Assembly on Friday 28 May 2021 under agenda item 13.1 – global action on patient safety.
FIGO's written statement
Patient safety in women’s health care requires a multidisciplinary collaboration of health care professionals and patients to drive culture change. People make errors. Errors can cause accidents. Errors and accidents result in adverse outcomes, morbidity and sometimes mortality. The concept of safety culture aims to minimise adverse events despite the intrinsically complex and hazardous work.
The culture of individual blame still dominates traditional health care and impairs the advancement of a safety culture. A just culture balances the need for open and honest reporting with the need for a quality learning environment. It requires a change in focus from errors and outcomes to system design and management of the behavioural choices of all employees. Collaboration involving all personnel across services and hierarchies is essential.
Successful reductions in maternal morbidity and mortality have involved evidence-based bundles of care, designed for the most common complications or occurrences in maternal health, from haemorrhage, hypertension and cardiac disease to racial disparities and reduction of caesarean sections. In maternal health, well-woman health care, preconception health, access to contraception and prenatal care all create a safety culture that decreases pregnancy complications and improves outcomes.
Likewise, attention to adequate support for the birthing environment – from medications, water and supplies through trained personnel to adequate facilities – will reduce morbidity and mortality. These are critical elements of a safety culture. As we look towards the elimination of obstetric fistula this decade, we must demand an environment focused on safety.
A woman whose health is optimised before pregnancy has a higher likelihood of a healthy pregnancy. Optimum universal health care is more than simply prevention: it must include access to specialty care, emergency care and surgical care. Patient safety and improved maternal health outcomes require collaboration, culture change and an integration of systematic approaches of care throughout health systems.
FIGO's verbal intervention – Dr Jeanne Conry, President-Elect
Your excellencies, colleagues and friends,
Patient safety in women’s health care requires a multidisciplinary collaboration of health care professionals and patients to drive culture change.
A just culture balances the need for open and honest reporting with the need for a quality learning environment. It requires a change in focus from errors and outcomes to system design and management of behavioural choices.
Successful reductions in maternal mortality have involved evidence-based bundles of care. Well-woman health care, preconception health, access to contraception and prenatal care all create a safety culture that decreases complications and improves outcomes.
A woman whose health is optimised before pregnancy has a higher likelihood of healthy pregnancy. Such conditions are made more likely by universal health coverage and adequate access to care. Likewise – in obstetrics especially – optimum universal health care is more than simply prevention: it must include access to specialty, emergency and surgical care.
Thank you.
Read all of the statements FIGO submitted to this year’s World Health Assembly.
The WHA74 statement portal also contains statements made by other non-state actors in official relations with the WHO. You can watch all recorded sessions of the WHA on the WHO website.