AIIMS Delhi Partners with WHO to Achieve 'œZero Avoidable Harm' to Patients

In order to achieve "zero avoidable harm," AIIMS Delhi will receive assistance from the World Health Organization (WHO) in implementing an advanced patient safety and quality initiative in the Department of Pediatrics and Pediatric Surgery, which includes Neonatology and Neonatal surgery.

WHO has recognized that one of the ongoing difficulties in global public health is patient harm, which is a main source of avoidable mortality and morbidity. In addition to reducing the number of healthy years lost, this harm has a negative financial, social, and psychological impact. They define public safety as a framework of organized activities in healthcare that creates cultures, processes, procedures, behavior, technologies, and an environment that consistently and sustainably lowers risk, reduces the occurrence of harm that could have been avoided, reduces the likelihood of errors, and lessens the impact of harm when it does occur.

In this regard, AIIMS has established a departmental committee that will be supported by the Secretariat and guided by the institute's core committee for patient safety and quality. The WHO and the institute's overall coordination will be the responsibility of the Secretariat.

According to a memorandum released by director Prof. M. Srinivas, a meeting was held with WHO officials from the South-East Asia Region. At the meeting, it was proposed to elevate patient safety and quality to the next level in order to achieve the global standard of "zero avoidable harm," beginning with the department of pediatrics and pediatric surgery. As a result, it is anticipated that these departments will establish a standard and benchmark for other institute departments and the nation as a whole. As a result, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended a multi-pronged strategy for achieving the goal of zero avoidable harm, which included collaborating with one of the world's best pediatric and pediatric surgery institutions to accelerate change through advanced patient safety training, and to arrange, if necessary, a site visit by experts or a study tour by AIIMS staff, or both.