To read the overview of the Perth Declaration for Patient Safety Workshop: click here

Definition of Patient-Centred Healthcare adopted by the Health Consumers' Council Board 2011

Perth Declaration for Patient Safety

We, the participants of the inaugural Australian Patients for Patient Safety Workshop convened in July 2009, to share profound health care experiences in our lives and to take forward our call for action to improve patient safety in Australia.

We are patients, family members, carers and health professionals - people from all walks of life. Each one of us is a testament to the personal experience of unintended harm in health care and its continuing impact. Much of that harm was preventable.
We declare

• Policies and protocols alone have not made us safer. This problem is systemic, widespread and deep-rooted. The fact that any person or family could one day experience needless devastating harm within the health care system is unacceptable

• Action must be taken now across all aspects and all levels of health care to prevent more harm occurring to others

• Our trusted health care workers and managers must recognise that we, your patients and our families, are an invaluable asset and resource for improving patient safety. We offer our stories and experiences. Seek to learn from our hard-won wisdom and partner with us to make lasting change

• We are the owners and funders of our health care systems and have collective responsibility for them. We ask everyone in the community, including health care providers, administrators and the Government, to join us in making the right to safe health care a priority for all people, especially those who are currently disadvantaged

• Care has no borders, neither does harm. The journey through all care settings must be better coordinated as too many lives have been lost or grievously harmed on this journey

• We need to receive care that conforms to the best evidence and practice. Safe practice must be supported by the reporting of and learning from patient safety incidents, education, innovative solutions and information

• Many barriers exist for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people which limit access to safe health care. Interpreter services, effective communication, transport and accommodation are all integral elements of patient safety

• Patients know their own bodies better than anybody else. It makes sense to include patients in decisions about their care and treatment. Patients must always be told the options available, the expected outcome of each option including risks and complications, and the likelihood of each outcome occurring

• Patient safety is a basic human right. When harmed, people have the right to timely apology, explanation, redress and other remedies meaningful to them

• In accepting that all humans err, we nevertheless dedicate ourselves to ensuring that effective systems are in place to

• Track and learn from health care errors, adverse events and near misses

• Minimise the impact of errors on all involved, including the care provider

• Make changes to prevent the same errors happening again

• Current reporting arrangements have failed to deliver safe health care for patients. We accept that everyone, including patients, their families and clinicians, needs to safely report patient safety issues and problems. We therefore demand the application of improved patient safety legislation, including sanctions, which enables good clinical practice and provides real safety

• We cannot stay silent any longer, waiting and watching as more people are harmed in healthcare. As Australians, we own this problem and will work together with actions that go beyond words. To progress this call for action to improve patient safety, we expect partnership at all stages and at every level of the Australian health care system

This Declaration is our kindling. We, the participants of the inaugural Australian Patients for Patient Safety Workshop, will use it to ignite the flame of change to advance patient safety for everyone.

This is our promise.

Perth, AUSTRALIA
August 5, 2009

Patients for Patient Safety - Australia – Communique July 19th, 2009

Dear Partners in Patient Safety, Whilst it has been just over a week since we all have gone our individual ways from the Workshop, I wanted to let you know that you all have been very much in my thoughts each day since and that work is continuing on the next steps for Patients for Patient Safety in Australia.

Your experiences, thoughts and words as individuals and as a group, many of which are captured with Starman, continue to have an impact and have been resonating with, touching hearts and minds, invoking discussion and sending extremely powerful messages to, health consumers and health providers alike, beyond the Workshop.

The day after the Workshop Marty and I introduced Starman to members and staff of the Health Consumers Council of WA (HCC) and presented on the aims and work of Patients for Patient Safety. Members of HCC were keenly interested in the focus of Patients for Patient Safety, the first Australian Workshop and many times during our two hours with them, unprompted, related their personal experiences of adverse events in health care.

Last Monday, Starman guided the day’s work of 100 delegates of the 2009 Western Australian Department of Health’s Patient Safety Symposium – “Putting the Patient in the Picture”. Marty kicked off the day, as the Plenary Speaker in a session titled “ Why it’s important for the Consumer to be at the board room table”. Three Workshop Participants, Jill Thomas, Stephen Bloomer and John Pintabona spoke about their experiences of the Workshop, what it meant for them and for working in partnership for safer Patient Care.

Both Jill and Stephen were attending the Symposium as delegates, so we took the opportunity to ask them to share their experiences of the Workshop to their peers in a session with John. Thank you John, Jill and Stephen for relating your perspectives, excitement and hope from the Workshop and for Patient Safety, all of which significantly raised the high energy level existing within the room! The Symposium incorporated the Patient Safety Awards and it was very pleasing to see Jill and her colleagues from Great Southern receiving the Patient Safety Award for their “Dedication to Patient Safety” and Patients for Patient Safety Workshop partners, Health Consumers Council WA, receiving an award for the “Patient First Ambassador Program”- Congratulations !

After lunch Marty and I facilitated a two hour Workshop for delegates to plan strategies and actions for ensuring that delegates included consumers in patient safety work. This session was lively and as delegates were asked to transcend all perceived or real limitations, the outcomes were very creative, inspiring and proactive. Each group presented their work, strategies and success measures back to the whole Symposium and they were asked to forward their strategies and plans for implementation to the Office of Safety and Quality WA for overview.

We look forward to learning of delegate’s progress and outcomes over the coming months, many of which included finding out more about Patients for Patient Safety and linking with Participants from the Perth Patients for Patient Safety Workshop. Since Monday, not only did I have the unexpected pleasure to connect up with a number of you again in Melbourne, at the Consumers Health Forum Members meeting, I have been made aware that some of you have made significant connections with key people in health back in your own areas and have begun to plan for working together further on patient safety.

This is fantastic and we welcome hearing about your work and progress.With all these great steps being taken which build upon the Workshop in mind and now looking forward, the finalisation of the Perth Declaration is a priority, and the latest draft will be forwarded to you for your comment after the Workshop Steering Group meeting at the end of this week. Also at this meeting we will view the collated actions from your Workshop action planning work which will then be disseminated to you for your information and further comment.

Over the next week the Workshop contact list and a checklist for those of you who wish to apply to the Alliance to become Patients for Patient Safety Champions, will be circulated to you.

I wish to thank you all for your participation and contribution to making the Workshop a most incredible, powerful and unifying event.

As I have reflected on the Workshop and your deep commitment to making health systems safer for all health consumers and your courage to speak out and work toward achieving this, I have been inspired and galvanised to ensure that the energy, momentum and focus created at the Workshop continues. As we have all experienced and witnessed, the Workshop was a catalyst for the beginning of our work together for further improving Patient Safety in Australia.

Warm wishes
Stephanie