Dhaka: Globally, one in every ten patients is harmed during health care, with around half of that harm being preventable. World Patient Safety Day unites governments, partners, and communities to emphasize patient safety and reduce avoidable harm in health care. Limited evidence shows that unsafe, poor-quality care has severe consequences, especially in low- and middle-income countries, leading to an estimated 5 million deaths and US$6 trillion in economic welfare losses. This year, the campaign focuses on safe care for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), under the slogan 'Safe care for life!'. Patients with NCDs face increased safety risks due to complex interactions with health services, with some conditions, like cancer, resulting in adverse events for up to one in three patients during care.
According to United News of Bangladesh, NCDs are responsible for 74% of all global deaths. In the WHO South-East Asia Region, 9.5 million individuals die from NCDs annually, with half of these deaths occurring prematurely in individuals under 70 years old. Ensuring safe NCD care across the continuum of care-encompassing prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, self-care, rehabilitation, and palliative care-is critical. The challenges include diagnostic delays, medication errors, health care-associated infections, and unsafe use of medical devices, which are exacerbated by poorly managed handovers, referrals, and discharges. For individuals with multiple conditions, navigating various treatment paths and medications heightens these risks.
Global frameworks provide a foundation for action. The 2019 World Health Assembly resolution on global patient safety led to the Global Patient Safety Action Plan 2021-2030, advocating for integration and coordination between patient safety and NCD programs. The 2025 United Nations General Assembly Political Declaration on NCDs and Mental Health emphasizes safe care as essential for improved health outcomes. Additionally, the Global Strategy for Integrated Emergency, Critical and Operative Care, 2026-2035, underscores the need for timely, safe, and high-quality care for acute NCD complications, advocating for safety monitoring through audits and case-based registries.
The economic impact of unsafe care is significant. Evidence from OECD countries suggests that 15% of hospital expenditure and activity is due to treating patients who have experienced safety failures, many of which are preventable. In times of constrained health budgets, the expense of avoidable harm is unjustifiable.
NCD policies, strategies, and programs must inherently include patient safety, requiring primary health care-oriented systems that offer continuous, coordinated care and eliminate financial barriers to essential services. Sustainable financing, reliable data, and a well-trained, supported, and retained health workforce are essential for delivering safe NCD care. Health workers should operate in environments where incidents can be reported without blame.
Engaging people living with NCDs as partners in their safety is crucial. Their experiences should guide decisions about their care and the design and improvement of health services. Patients and caregivers need empowerment to ask questions, understand treatments, maintain health information, recognize warning signs, and communicate concerns. Health workers must receive the knowledge, tools, resources, and working conditions necessary for providing safe care. Health-care facilities should cultivate a culture of learning from incidents and near misses, emphasizing improvement over blame.
On World Patient Safety Day, the commitment is reaffirmed that safe care is a right for everyone, at every stage of care, for as long as necessary, and is integral to universal health coverage.