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Minister for Health Pledges Support for Global Initiative to Improve Patient Safety

10 November 2006

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10 Nov 2006

Minister for Health, Mr Khaw Boon Wan, has pledged his support for a global initiative to promote high standards of practice to reduce the risks of healthcare-associated infections and improve patient safety. The Global Patient Safety Challenge is part of the World Health Organisation (WHO) World Alliance for Patient Safety. Launched in October 2004, the Alliance is to advance the patient safety goal of "first do no harm", and reduce the adverse health and social consequences of unsafe healthcare. In 2005-2006, the Global Patient Safety Challenge focuses on healthcare-associated infection with the theme "Clean Care is Safer Care".

The Challenge aims to raise awareness globally of the impact of healthcare associated infections on patient safety, and promote preventive strategies. In his pledge, to be delivered on 10 November at WHO, Geneva, Minister resolved to work with health professionals and healthcare associations in Singapore to promote the highest standards of practice to reduce the risks of healthcare associated infections. This includes promoting hand hygiene, blood safety, injection and immunisation safety as well as making information available on healthcare-associated infection to healthcare providers. Singapore will also collaborate with other WHO Member States to share knowledge and experience in the field of healthcare-associated infections.(See the full Pledge in Annex 1).

As part of our effort to make information on healthcare-associated infections easily available, MOH has published an Occasional Paper, detailing ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) rates in ICUs in Singapore. VAP is an infection that could occur in an ICU patient who is placed on a ventilator. In Singapore, infections associated with devices used in intensive care units (ICUs) have reduced significantly due to a programme of stringent infection control measures, surveillance, benchmarking and quality improvement instituted at our public hospitals. The infection rates have been brought down to levels that are comparable with international standards.

See the Occasional Paper on Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia in Intensive Care Units

MOH will continue to monitor and work towards further reducing the incidence of this infection amongst ICU patients.