Health Canada Renews Funding To The Canadian Patient Safety Institute

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 04 Jul 2008 - 4:00 PDT

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Laurie Hawn, Member of Parliament for Edmonton Centre, on behalf of the Honourable Tony Clement, Federal Minister of Health, announced renewed funding of up to $8 million a year, over the next five years, to the Canadian Patient Safety Institute (CPSI), to continue providing leadership and building a culture of patient safety and quality improvement in the Canadian health care system.

Since it was established in December 2003, the CPSI has worked to foster collaboration between governments, regulatory bodies and stakeholders, and to develop effective patient safety strategies, frameworks, tools and practices.

"Providing safe, high quality health care is a priority for the healthcare system and a priority for all governments," said Mr. Hawn. "Canada has a quality health care system that delivers safe and effective care to Canadians every day."

"But we know we can do better," he continued. "Adverse events continue to affect thousands of patients every year. That is why I am pleased to renew funding to the Canadian Patient Safety Institute as it enters the second phase of its mandate to build and advance a safer Canadian health care system."

"This five-year funding commitment endorses and affirms our collective efforts to date towards making Canada a world leader in advancing patient safety - accomplishments only made possible through close cooperation and collaboration with many committed health professionals and health care organizations across the country," said Philip Hassen, CEO of the Canadian Patient Safety Institute. "We are extremely appreciative to Mr. Hawn, Minister Clement and the federal government for that support and we will continue to work diligently with our health care partners, all provincial and territorial health care organizations, as well as Health Canada to ensure that it results in the highest possible level of safe care for the patients we serve."

The CPSI has laid important groundwork to advance patient safety. The Safer Healthcare Now! campaign has engaged some 830 health care teams across the country to reducing preventable injuries or deaths in hospitals. The recently released Canadian Disclosure Guidelines represent the commitment to protect patients' rights to be informed in the event of an adverse event.

Over the next five years, in collaboration with its network of national and regional partners, the CPSI will build on these successes and focus on four key areas: education, research, tools and resources, and, interventions and programs. It will continue to promote patient safety as a focus in health sector education and training, and facilitate the development of curriculum competencies The CPSI will also enhance patient safety research capacity, provide tools to foster accountability and improve patient safety practices and processes and develop pan-Canadian programs to enable timely implementation of patient safety practices.

Health Canada

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