Hello Neil,
Thank you for sharing this important piece from Dr Neelam DHINGRA, Unit Head, WHO Patient Safety.
For us, as we designed and are promoting the 12-pillar clinical governance programme (12-PCGP) we see patient safety as a continuum of the many activities and interventions during engagement between the patient, practitioner and carers / family. Focus with patient safety starts with the first access to and contact between these various actors. For this reason, we do not limit patient safety to 'accidental errors' or 'the right diagnosis' for this reason. Both considerations are only a small part of the continuum.
Considerations of patient safety encompasses factors that strengthen the whole system, including facility readiness with appropriate infrastructure, equipment, constant and reliable utilities, waste management, sanitation and ambience; risk management in a holistic sense that covers clinical audit; clinical effectiveness and regular scheduled update training; health worker knowledge, skills and attitude of staff to patients; regular patioent and staff satisfaction surveys; all of which are only achieved when the system adequately motivates and focuses on health worker welfare and satisfaction so that they can deliver safe care. ( Joseph Ana. 12-Pillar Clinical Governance and Good Medical Practice: transforming the whole health sector and system. Journal of Medical Standards & Ethics (MDCN), 2023; Vol.1 (1): 12-18.)
Joseph Ana.
Prof Joseph Ana
Lead Senior Fellow/ medical consultant.
Center for Clinical Governance Research &
Patient Safety (ACCGR&PS) @ HRI GLOBAL
P: +234 (0) 8063600642
E: info@hri-global.org
8 Amaku Street, State Housing, Calabar, Nigeria.
www.hri-global.org
HIFA Profile: Joseph Ana is the Lead Senior Fellow/Medical Consultant at the Centre for Clinical Governance Research and Patient Safety (CCGR&PS) with Headquarters in Calabar, Nigeria, established by HRI Global (former HRIWA). He is the Country Coordinator for PACK Nigeria (Practical Approach to Care Kit) which is specifically designed to improve clinical competence (improving accuracy of diagnosis and treatment) in primary health care. He is also a Member of the World Health Organisation’s Technical Advisory Group on Integrated Care in primary, emergency, operative, and critical care (TAG-IC2). As the Cross River State Commissioner for Health (2004-2008), Joseph Ana led the introduction of the evidence based, homegrown quality tool, the 12-Pillar Clinical Governance Programme (12-PCGP) in Nigeria, which also suitable for lower-, low-, and middle income countries (LLMIC) with similar weak health sector and system. To ensure sustainability of 12-PCGP, the ‘Department of Clinical Governance, Servicom & e-health’ was established in Cross River State Ministry of Health in 2007. His main interest is in ‘Whole health sector and system strengthening in LLMICs’. He has written six books on the 12-Pillar Clinical Governance Programme, including the TOOLS manual for its Implementation, currently in its 2nd Edition. He served as Chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association’s Standing Committee on Clinical Governance (2012-2022), and he won the Association’s ‘Award of Excellence’ on three consecutive occasions for the innovation of 12-PCGP in Nigeria. He served as Chairman, Quality & Performance subcommittee of the Technical Working Group for the implementation of the Nigeria Health Act 2014. He was Member, National Tertiary Health Institutions Standards Committee (NTISC) of the Federal Ministry of Health, 2017-2022. He is the pioneer Secretary General/Trustee-Director of the Charity, NMF (Nigerian Medical Forum UK) which took the BMJ to West Africa in 1995. Joseph is a member of the HIFA Steering Group; the HIFA working group on Community Health Workers, and the Working Group on HIFA-WHO Collaboration (http://www.hifa.org/support/members/joseph-0 http://www.hifa.org/people/steering-group). Email: info AT hri-global.org and jneana AT yahoo.co.uk
