To the World Patient Safety Day

On September 17, 2024, the Bogomolets National Medical University, Department of Hygiene, Occupational Safety and Health, with the participation of the State Institution «Marzieiev Institute for Public Health of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine,» held a scientific and practical conference with international participation dedicated to World Patient Safety Day.

For the 5th year in a row, the State Institution «Marzieiev Institute for Public Health of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine» co-organizes these traditional events. Program issues discussed at the conference:

  • The paradigm of a safe hospital environment: the essence and right to exist.
  • The importance of diagnostics for patient safety.
  • Safety of the hospital environment in the context of military operations.
  • The role of patients in ensuring the safety of medical care.
  • Patient safety and quality of medical care.
  • Defects in providing medical care, their structure, and main causes.
  • Legal and ethical aspects of patient safety.
  • Occupational health and safety, occupational injuries and morbidity in the medical industry.
  • Modern strategies and tools for ensuring a safe hospital environment.
  • Patient safety issues in the system of undergraduate medical and continuing professional education.
  • History, status, and prospects of hygiene development as the basis of public health.

The State Institution «Marzieiev Institute for Public Health of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine» presented two reports. 

The report on “Planning and Construction of Modern Safe Hospital Facilities: State Regulation” by the authors: Head of the Laboratory of Hygiene for Planning and Construction of Settlements, Doctor of Medicine, Professor Makhniuk V.M., Senior Researcher, Candidate of Biological Sciences Mohylnyi S.M. is dedicated to the creation of a safe in-hospital environment in modern healthcare facilities in Ukraine.

Today’s realities demonstrate the urgent need to rebuild 1,740 healthcare facilities damaged/destroyed by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine: 1,537 were damaged, and 203 were destroyed. As of early 2024, 509 medical facilities have been rebuilt, and 357 have been partially rebuilt. The “Recovery Plan for Ukraine in 2023-2025” approved by the Government of Ukraine provides for repairing damaged healthcare facilities and completely reconstructing those destroyed (Minister of Health of Ukraine Viktor Liashko, 2024). 

Under these circumstances, the issue of maintaining the functioning of healthcare facilities and ensuring safety for the health and lives of patients and medical staff has become acute. These new living conditions required some amendments and additions to the legislation and the development of new regulations.

Within the framework of the research project “Hygienic Assessment of Urban Planning Documentation of Settlements Affected by Hostilities to Create Safe Living Conditions for the Population” (AMN.03.23), specialists of the Laboratory of Hygiene for Planning and Construction of Settlements of the State Institution «Marzieiev Institute for Public Health of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine» took part in the creation of DBN B.2.2-5:2023 “Protective structures of civil protection,” which were approved by the Order of the Ministry for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine dated 10.08.23 No. 702.

The activities of the Laboratory of Hygiene for Planning and Construction of Settlements in the area of “Hygienic aspects of creating a safe environment for the population in residential and public buildings under martial law and during the reconstruction of Ukraine” are aimed at strengthening the security determinants of public health by creating optimal conditions for collective civil protection of the population in civil protection structures of public buildings during martial law and post-war use of these structures for dual purposes.

Professor Y. Skaletskyi presented the report of the group of authors, “National Regulatory Framework for Patient Safety in the Context of Global Trends,” which outlines a broad picture of the emergence of the patient safety issue as one of the priorities in healthcare. The report of the American Institute of Medicine, “Human Error: Building Safer Healthcare” (Kohn LT et al., 1999), which showed that in the United States, about 100 thousand people die every year from medical staff errors, attracted the attention of the world medical community. In 2002, the WHO adopted the “Quality of care: patient safety” declaration and the World Alliance for Patient Safety was launched under the WHO Secretariat.

The WHO recognizes patient safety as a fundamental healthcare principle and a severe and potentially preventable global public health problem. After 2000, several countries’ parliaments passed legislation on patient safety.

Adopted by the Ministry of Health of the Concept of Quality Management of Medical Care in the Healthcare Sector in Ukraine for the Period up to 2020, which takes into account international experience in this area until 2000 (i.e. without taking into account the security component), and the corresponding implementation plan for this concept is a clear sign of the lack of proper information and scientific support for the activities of the Ministry. Moreover, implementation of the Concept of Quality Management of Medical Care in the Healthcare Sector in Ukraine for the Period up to 2020 in 2017 was practically suspended. The conclusions of the report state that:

  • The problem of patient safety in Ukraine has yet to be identified in a broad sense.
  • International and regional experience in ensuring patient safety is not taken into account by domestic medical practice or is taken into account mainly with a lag of more than ten years.
  • In Ukraine, a haphazard, fragmented approach to building a safe hospital environment prevails, which makes it impossible to expect this activity to be successful.
  • The developments of scientific institutions of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine and medical education institutions of 3-4 accreditation levels on safety strategies in medical practice still need to be widely implemented. Since the concept was supposed to be implemented by 2020, both de jure and de facto, the quality of medical care and patient safety must be brought to the state’s attention.
  • The situation with the health and safety of medical personnel could be much better.

State Institution «Marzieiev Institute for Public Health of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine»

(date of publication on the website 25.09.2024)