EUNetPaS

Project's Information

Duration: 30 months (February 2008 - June 2010)
Status: completed non EPF-led project

What was the project about?

The European Network for Patient Safety (EUNetPaS) project established a network of all 27 EU Member States, international organisations, and stakeholders in the field of healthcare (healthcare professionals, patients, institutions, and scientists) to encourage and enhance collaboration in the field of patient safety.  It was coordinated by HAS (the French National Authority for Health).

Project’s objectives

The objectives of the project were:

• To promote coherence at the EU level through recommendations and common tools
• To promote a patient safety culture based on no-blame reporting
• To promote education and information on patient safety
• To create a permanent collaboration network on patient safety

Project’s outcomes

Outcomes of the project include a tool to measure patient safety culture, guidelines for education and training, a virtual library of European reporting and learning systems, recommendation on medication safety and an establishment of national Patient Safety Platforms in 13 EU Member States.

EPF’s Role

 

EPF was particularly involved in WP2 (Education and training on patient safety) and contributed to the preparation of “A General Guide for Education and Training in Patient Safety”. The guide aims to support healthcare providers on national and local levels to design, establish and evaluate training interventions in patient safety in order to ultimately promote transferability of methods (process and content) from one Member State to another. The document is furthermore designed as a practical tool, which is accompanied by a web-based version with context-specific examples from various EU countries. The target audience for the guide consists of all relevant stakeholders: health professionals and other healthcare workers, relevant management and administrative staff in healthcare settings as well as healthcare policy makers and patients themselves. EPF was also involved in evaluation of the project.

Impact on the patient community

This project was a first and invaluable experience for EPF of participation in an EU-wide network with Member States and other stakeholder organisations. The project experience overall paved the way for further cooperation in the areas of patient safety and quality of healthcare, which continued with the Joint Action “European Network on Patient Safety and Quality of Care” (PaSQ) launched in 2012. PaSQ explicitly recognises patients’ empowerment and patient involvement as key areas of safety and quality in healthcare, and EPF is participating in this Joint Action as a stakeholder partner.