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.
Let’s broaden our understanding of harm, together
Recognizing and reducing harm is essential to creating safety for all. But what is healthcare harm? How and why does it happen? Who does it impact — and how?
We'll be exploring these questions and more during Canadian Patient Safety Week 2024, and we’d love for you to join us.
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?
Learn about the theme
Get the details on why healthcare harm is the focus of this year’s campaign and ways you can participate.
Register for CPSW 2024
Sign up for the latest news about CPSW, including our upcoming webinar series, ways to organize your own events and more.
Who should register for Canadian Patient Safety Week 2024?
CPSW is designed to bring together people involved in delivering or receiving care
to explore healthcare harm and create safer care for all.
Safety and quality leads and others can explore how to expand the understanding of harm at their organization.
Care providers can explore how understanding harm benefits care teams, including those receiving care.
Patients, residents, clients and care partners can explore their vital role in contributing to safer care.
Why you should register
Register for Canadian Patient Safety Week 2024 so you can stay informed, order free materials and get up-to-date information about events and resources.
Order free swag
Ensure you receive your items in time for your CPSW 2024 events and activities.
Participate in webinars
Learn about and reserve your spot for our online learning events.
Stay up to date
We'll keep you in the loop on the latest CPSW 2024 developments.
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.
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.
Person experiencing harm
People receiving and delivering healthcare across the continuum can experience 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.
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.
Register for our first CPSW 2024 webinar now!
In this webinar, participants will learn about an activity that can encourage discussion and action with their teams in support of patient safety, hear the experiences of healthcare leaders, a Q&A period, and more! Be sure to reserve your spot for this engaging online learning event.
Thursday, September 12, 2024
12:00 – 1:30 pm ET
Organize your own CPSW 2024 activities
Ready to engage your team or organization during Canadian Patient Safety Week? Were here to help with resources and guidance.
Get startedExplore harm with our infographic
We’ve created an infographic to help you broaden your understanding of healthcare harm.
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.
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.
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.
Communications toolkit
Help raise awareness about CPSW 2024 with content and supporting graphic files for your channels.
Rethinking Patient Safety Guide
Get informed and kick-start conversations with this statement and discussion guide.
Infographic
An infographic to help you broaden your understanding of healthcare harm.
Register for Canadian Patient Safety Week now
Take a moment to register to ensure you are up-to-date and have first access to events and resources as they become available.
Register for Canadian Patient Safety Week now
Take a moment to register to ensure you are up-to-date and have first access to events and resources as they become available.
