World Patient Safety Day

World Patient Safety Day (17 September)

Usually during World Patient Safety Day, the MHRA seeks to increase awareness, engagement and improve understanding of the Yellow Card scheme. ‘Engaging patients for patient safety' has been selected as the theme for World Patient Safety Day 2023, in recognition of the crucial role patients, families and caregivers play in the safety of health care.  The slogan ‘Elevate the voice of patients!’ will be used. MHRA always supports this important theme and take every opportunity to encourage reporting of any safety concerns to the Yellow Card scheme and help improve the safe use of medicines and medical devices for everyone. 

We usually mark World Patient Safety Day with the 'Every report counts' campaign emphasising that collectively, every report helps to build a bigger picture of patient safety and can lead to action to protect others. Subsequent campaigns have build on this #EveryReportCounts.

Our campaigns try to feature insights from patient and healthcare professionals who have previously reported and helped lead to the MHRA acting to improve the safe use of medicine and medical devices. For example, the animation below features Jazz, a pharmacist in Liverpool, who shares her experiences with reporting and why she felt it was important.

In 2022, the MHRA did not participate in the World Patient Safety Day campaign as it was during the period of national mourning for the late Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

In 2021, the MHRA supported World Patient Safety Day through social media urging all stakeholders to report suspected side effects according to the theme of safe maternal and new born care.

In 2020, the MHRA commends the crucial role that healthcare professionals play in reporting and flagging patient safety issues, including reporting through the Yellow Card scheme. We also call upon patients, healthcare professionals, and the public to report suspected side effects from medicines and safety concerns with medical devices to the Yellow Card scheme and encourage others to do the same. See the MHRA press release.