Canadian patient safety champions: collaborating on improving patient safety

Patients for Patient Safety Canada champions have grown in numbers and purpose since their initiation into the World Health and Pan-American Health Organizations' Patients for Patient Safety initiative in May 2006. The 25 Canadian patients and family members not only share their adverse event experiences but are actively engaged in collaboration with health professionals, administrators and decision-makers to initiate proactive patient safety strategies. Their intention is to have their stories heard as tools for learning. They also wish to raise local, regional and national awareness of patient safety problems. The different patient and family stories and experiences share some common issues and suggested solutions that might make a difference in patient safety. One key solution is involving patients and families not only in discussions of treatment and follow-up when adverse events occur but also proactively on patient safety advisory committees. These actions would acknowledge a common interest in seeing that the right things are done. Patients and families share the common interest of all those advocating for patient safety, namely, First do no harm (attributed to Hippocrates, circa 470-360 B.C.). The patients and families of Patients for Patient Safety Canada are a group of committed, dedicated individuals who should be acknowledged for sharing their experiences and trying to make a difference in patient safety.