Firstly, please allow me to offer my sincere congratulations on the 10 year anniversary of Patients for Patient Safety Canada (PFPSC). I share your well-deserved pride as you celebrate the huge amount of work accomplished and the significant voice you have given to patients and their families. At CPSI, we begin each Board Meeting with a video of one of your powerful stories. The videos really remind us of the importance of carrying on your important work. You began by coming together as a few individuals, and now your work will be recognized around the world as you become World Health Organization Champions. Well done.
Canadians agree that our healthcare system cannot continue to improve without the input of patients and their families. This message was already made clear to me throughout my career as a nurse and as I moved away from the front line and into leadership positions. It was further reinforced during my battle with cancer, where I found myself on the other side of the patient/provider relationship. Throughout that entire journey, there was nothing I wanted more than to be active and involved in my own care and to be seen as a partner to the amazing providers I had looking out for me.
The focus of CPSI is collaboration – working with others to make positive change happen. I admire how PFPSC has illustrated the effectiveness of collaboration for over 10 years now. By sharing their individual stories, PFPSC members translate harm into healing and work with the healthcare system for nationwide improvement. Thank you for having the courage to make this possible.
To the members of Patients for Patient Safety Canada, thank you again for your amazing work. While we look backward with pride over the past 10 years, it is now time to go forward into the future. Let's build on the past successes and really bring the patient voice clearly to the forefront of patient safety improvement. I look forward with excitement to our next 10 years together, and beyond.
Please feel free to contact me personally at cpower@cpsi-icsp.ca to discuss any patient safety issues that are on your mind.
Yours in patient safety,
Chris Power
