African Partnerships for Patient Safety to improve Health Services in more African Hospitals
Geneva, 21 November 2011 - The World Health Organization (WHO) is this week launching the second wave of Europe-to-Africa hospital partnerships to improve patient safety in five countries. WHO, through African Partnerships for Patient Safety (APPS) proposes a unique partnership model translating policy into action to improve patient safety in hospitals in the African region. Hospitals in Africa are teamed up with counterparts in Europe to allow the sharing of tools, processes and learning based on three core objectives: partnership strength; hospital patient safety improvements; and patient safety spread. Building on the success of the "first wave" of partnerships established in 2009, new partnerships between hospitals in Africa and the UK are being launched in this "second wave". 'APPS harnesses the power of human interactions between front-line health workers in high income and developing countries to accrue benefits for both arms of the partnership' said Dr Marie-Paule Kieny, WHO Assistant Director-General. Since its foundation in 2009 and as part of its first wave, APPS has partnered six English- and French-speaking country hospitals in Africa - in Cameroon, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mali, Senegal and Uganda - with hospitals in the UK and Switzerland. 'Improvements to make care safer for patients take time and commitment, and I welcome the energy that the first wave of hospitals has demonstrated in accepting this challenge. The skills and expertise that each partner brings enriches the body of knowledge for patient safety, not just for APPS, but for all WHO Member States' said Sir Liam Donaldson, WHO Envoy for Patient Safety. The initial focus of first-wave hospitals was on health care-associated infections and ‘we have been very pleased to see progress in all six partnerships where infection control infrastructures have been put in place and focused training to improve hand hygiene practices has been conducted’ said Professor Didier Pittet, External Advisor, APPS. In addition, of the six first-wave hospitals in Africa, four identified safe surgery as an action area and two are already using the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist. The spread of patient safety in Africa, APPS' third objective, has already begun. For example, APPS has resulted in focused patient safety action at Gondar Hospital, Ethiopia, through a partnership with University Hospitals Leicester, UK, and the patient safety approach at Gondar has been used by the Ethiopian Ministry of Health in hospitals across the country, through the development of training manuals and materials. Through working with the six first-wave partnerships, APPS has co-developed a six-step approach to patient safety improvement using a unique partnership model which spans: partnership development; systematic needs assessment; gap analysis; action planning; and implementation and evaluation. APPS facilitates the implementation of each of these steps, which are supported by tailored resources. Despite its main objective of improving patient safety in Africa, the partnerships have also enabled hospitals in Europe to identify gaps and patient safety issues in their own settings. Building on the success of the first wave, APPS is now launching its "second wave" of English-speaking partnerships between St George's (London, UK)-Kumasi (Ghana), Ipswich (UK)-Beira (Mozambique), Imperial College (London, UK)-Butare (Rwanda), North Cumbria (UK)-Mbeya (Tanzania) and Guy's & St Thomas' (London, UK)-Ndola (Zambia). The second-wave partners have conducted their situational analysis and have developed a work plan for the next two years. Friday 25 November is their first implementation day. As APPS moves forward, it will continue improving through evaluating and learning from challenges and realities of African hospitals, both within and across partnerships. Tools and resources produced as outcomes of the first wave of partnerships will be available shortly for use by any African hospital engaged in patient safety improvement. These resources will also be shared with ministries of health and regional institutions.
- African Partnerships for Patient Safety
- Health care-associated infection control
- WHO Surgical Safety Checklist
For more information about African Partnerships for Patient Safety (APPS), please contact the team at patientsafety@who.int.