Patient Safety

National strategy for patient safety

In 2001, the Royal College hosted a one-day forum on patient safety at its Annual Conference, which led to the formation of the National Steering Committee on Patient Safety and an integrated national strategy for patient safety, documented in the 2002 Report, Building a safer system: a national integrated strategy for improving patient safety in Canadian health care.

Safety Competencies Framework

In 2008, the College, in partnership with the Canadian Patient Safety Institute, developed a framework of inter-professional patient safety competencies to advance patient safety education curricula, continuing professional development and ultimately better patient care.

The competency framework was released at the College's International Conference on Residency Education in September, and the Canadian Healthcare Safety Symposium (Halifax Conference) in Winnipeg, in October 2008.

Other resources

The Canadian Patient Safety Institute (CPSI) was established in 2003 as an independent not-for-profit corporation, operating collaboratively with health professionals and organizations, regulatory bodies and governments to build and advance a safer healthcare system for Canadians.

The goal of the Safe Surgery Saves Lives Challenge is to improve the safety of surgical care around the world by defining a core set of safety standards that can be applied in all WHO Member States.

• WHO Surgical Safety Checklist and Implementation Manual