What comes to mind when you think about healthcare harm?

Canadian Patient Safety Week 2024

Join us October 28 – November 1 as we seek to understand healthcare harm.

What exactly is healthcare harm? How and why does it happen? Who does it impact — and how? That’s our focus for CPSW 2024.

Register today

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Let’s broaden our understanding of harm, together

Recognizing and reducing healthcare harm matters to those receiving and delivering care in any setting. As part of championing Rethinking Patient Safety, we encourage everyone to broaden their understanding of healthcare harm as an important step in delivering safer care for all.

Start exploring harm

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A complex healthcare system

Healthcare is incredibly complex. It is delivered by many different people engaging with many processes across various settings and through transitions in care. Sometimes, things go wrong — and this may result in harm. The factors involved can be multiple and varied.

Defences

The system as a whole is safe because it involves multiple layers of defence that combine and overlap to support the safe delivery of care.

Contributing factors

The defences that help promote safe care, when missing or weakened, can become contributing factors when things go wrong. Contributing factors are often interrelated, complex and rarely the result of a single issue. Examples include:

Categories of safety incidents

Incidents can result from a variety of actions or inactions while receiving and delivering care. These safety incidents can be broadly classified as:

Harm experienced by a person

Harm can include more than physical injuries. The person who experiences harm is often best positioned to define and describe it.

Physical
Psychological
Social
Spritual

Person experiencing harm 

People receiving and delivering healthcare across the continuum can experience harm.

Patients, residents and clients
Care partners
Clinical and non-clinical staff
Community members
Others
Impact of harm

Impact of harm

Healthcare harm can have cascading and long-lasting impacts on people and communities. Understanding and supporting those harmed by the healthcare system can help restore trust and contribute to healing. Their ongoing involvement is essential to shape our approach to safer care.


How you can participate in CPSW 2024

Organized by Healthcare Excellence Canada, Canadian Patient Safety Week is an annual campaign to inspire extraordinary improvements in healthcare safety and quality. Between now and October, we’ll share many opportunities for you to get involved. Ready to jump in?

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Learn something new

Sign up for webinars and explore harm with our resources. 

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Do a team activity 

Facilitate a thoughtful discussion with our activity card. 

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Order free swag

Take your CPSW events and activities to the next level.

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Spread the word 

Share what you’re up to with our communications toolkit. 

 

Register for CPSW 2024 webinars

Join the conversation as our panelists discuss healthcare harm and safety from multiple perspectives and across multiple settings. Registration is now open — sign up for as many as you like!

The webinars in this series include:

  • Expanding Perspectives: Understanding and Reducing Healthcare Harm
  • First Nations, Inuit and Métis Experiences with Racism in Healthcare Systems
  • Let’s Talk About Safer Care in the Community
  • Courageous Leadership: Enabling Safer Healthcare Environments

Learn more and register

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Engage teams with our activity card

Use our new healthcare harm activity card with your team to stimulate discussion and thoughtful reflection that inspires proactive action to prevent harm and create safer care for all.

Learn more and download

Access other CPSW 2024 materials

Check out our other materials for you to download, use and share.

Poster

Help spread the word about the need to better understand healthcare harm.

Download (PDF 1.9MB)

Communications toolkit 

Help raise awareness about CPSW 2024 with content and supporting graphic files for your channels. 

Learn more and download

Rethinking Patient Safety Guide

Get informed and kick-start conversations with this statement and discussion guide.

Learn more and download

Infographic

An infographic to help you broaden your understanding of healthcare harm.

Download (PDF 1.1 MB) 

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Strengthen your skills with our Patient Safety Essentials e-learning program

Sign up for a free, self-directed virtual learning program designed especially for healthcare providers to help you understand the fundamentals of patient safety.

Sign up today 

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It’s not too late to order your free swag  

Take a moment to register to order swag for your own events and activities – and make it a success. Supplies are limited.

Register here

image_banner

It’s not too late to order your free swag  

Take a moment to register to order swag for your own events and activities – and make it a success. Supplies are limited.

Register here