The Ministry of Health and Sanitation with support from the World Health Organization in Sierra Leone and other partners has commemorated World Patient Safety Day and launched the National Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety Policy along with the Quality of Care Strategic Road map in Freetown.

The event which was strategically planned to achieve two interrelated and momentous purposes – commemorating World Patient Safety Day and launching of the National Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety Policy and the Quality of Care Strategic Road map – attracted participants from the leadership of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, health sector development partners including UNICEF, UNFPA, the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO), healthcare workers and students of nursing and midwifery.

The establishment of World Patient Safety Day (Resolution WHA72.6), to be marked annually on 17 September, was endorsed by all 194 WHO Member States at the 72nd World Health Assembly, in May 2019, as patient safety was recognized as a global health priority. The objectives of World Patient Safety Day are to increase public awareness and engagement, enhance global understanding, and spur global solidarity and action to promote patient safety. However, Sierra Leone missed the opportunity to join the rest of the world to commemorate the day on 17^th September; but that did not affect the resolve of the leadership of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation to commemorate the day this year.

While making his keynote address on the commemoration and launching, the minister of Health and Sanitation Prof. Alpha T. Wurie, thanked WHO and other partners for the continued support given to the Government of Sierra Leone through his ministry. Prof. Wurie also recognized the political will from the president in strengthening the health sector with massive recruitment of 4000 healthcare workers, with more training of State Registered Nurses and midwives going on.

Speaking to the theme for this year – Healthcare worker safety: A priority for patient Safety – Prof. Wurie mentioned some of the strides the ministry has made in training of healthcare workers, clinical and safety improvements in hospitals and health centers across the country and provision of personal protection equipment (PPE) for health workers.

“We are committed to doing all this and more because we recognize that healthcare workers’ safety is intertwined with patient safety and like a car and the driver, one cannot move without the order” said Prof. Wurie.

In his statement, the WR a.i. Dr. Steven Valebo Shongwe applauds Sierra Leone for being one of the first 10 countries to move a step further from recognizing Patient Safety to making a policy to achieving it.

 Dr Shongwe assured the minister and people of Sierra Leone of WHO’s commitment to continuing the support to the health sector, “in every step of the way” he said.

The event was climaxed with the launching of the two documents – National Healthcare Quality and Safety Policy and the Quality of Care Strategic Roadmap – by the minister, which he assures will improve the quality of health service delivery in Sierra Leone.