Dr. Alireza Askari,
Acting Director of the Center for Hospital Management and Clinical Excellence
Every year, September 17 is observed as World Patient
Safety Day—an opportunity to draw global attention to the importance of
safe care within health systems. This year, the World Health Organization (WHO)
has chosen the theme “Safe Care for Every Newborn and Child”, highlighting one
of the most vital and sensitive populations in healthcare.
No area of the health system requires as much precision,
expertise, and safety as the care of newborns and children. Due to their unique
physiology, specific needs, and high dependency on caregivers, they are more
vulnerable than others to harm caused by medical errors or unsafe services.
Because harm in this group can have lifelong or even fatal consequences,
enhancing safety in their care is not merely a choice—it is an ethical,
professional, and social imperative.
For World Patient Safety Day 2025, WHO has outlined four key
objectives:
- Raising
public and professional awareness about safety risks in child-centered
care;
- Mobilizing
policymakers, healthcare institutions, academia, and civil society to
design sustainable strategies for safe care;
- Empowering
parents, caregivers, and even children themselves to take an active role
in the care process;
- Supporting
knowledge generation and research related to child safety in health
systems.
This year’s slogan, “Patient Safety Right from
the Start!”, rightly emphasizes that investing in safety from birth not
only lays the foundation for individual health but also underpins sustainable
development and quality of life in every society.
In our country as well, this theme can serve as a guide for
critically re-examining some existing approaches. It is time for hospitals,
policymakers, medical universities, and professional media outlets to move
beyond ceremonial observances of health-related days and instead use such
occasions to redefine their responsibilities toward the next generation.
Activities such as hospital safety leadership rounds,
recognition of safety champions, reviewing error-reporting pathways, and broad
media engagement to raise public awareness are just a few of the steps that can
transform this day from a “calendar event” into a true “system milestone.”
Ultimately, the most important message of World Patient
Safety Day 2025 may be this: If we fail to take safe care of children seriously, we endanger not
only them but also the future health of our entire society.