EPF contributes six amendments to “Safer healthcare in Europe” report
Picture: MEP Piernicola Pedicini © European Parliament
Following the European Commission's evaluation report on the implementation of the Council Recommendation on patient safety, MEP Piernicola Pedicini (EFD, Italy) issued an own-initiative report “Safer healthcare in Europe: improving patient safety and fighting antimicrobial resistance.”
EPF proposed six amendments to the draft report to reinforce the recommendations to empower patients and their representatives stated in the 2009 Council Recommendation, as well as the 2014 Council Conclusions on patient safety.
The draft report published by the ENVI Committee on 4 February 2014 calls for further implementation[1] of the Council Recommendation. The vote in the European Parliament plenary is scheduled for May.
As reported by the member states in the Commission’s evaluation report, the implementation had been slowed by financial constraints resulting from the economic crisis. In his report, Mr Pedicini emphasises that “the Commission should continue to keep a close watch on the Member States’ progress regarding Parliament and Council recommendations and inform the public about all the latest advances in patient safety and in the development of new drugs to help reduce the upward trend in adverse events being seen in the EU.”
EPF also presented the patients’ perspective at a preliminary event organised in the European Parliament by Mr Pedicini on 24 February. This meeting aimed at discussing the draft report with Members of the European Parliament, representatives of the European Commission, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control as well as various stakeholders.
Piernicola Pedicini concluded “that treatment should centre on patients; health services should not be subjected to unwarranted cuts ostensibly dictated by austerity”.
Contact: EPF Project Officer Cristina Padeanu at cristina.padeanu@eu-patient.eu.
[1] These European Parliament documents are not binding, but the European Commission is required to take a position on such reports and as such they are useful tools to ask the Commission to come up with new proposals.