Patient safety in Finland

Healthcare staff are responsible for patient safety, but as a client, you and your family have a key role in promoting patient safety in your place of treatment.

You can promote the safety of your own treatment in the following ways, for example:

• Tell the medical staff about your situation, your medical history and the medication you use.
• Ensure that your personal data is correct.
• Ask what is examined, why, when and where. Follow the instructions you receive.
• If you believe that a near miss situation, a treatment injury or other incident has occurred in your place of treatment, bring the matter up with a nurse or a doctor. Clarifying the matter quickly will eliminate misunderstandings.

What does patient safety mean?

Patient safety constitutes

• treatment that does not endanger you because of an error or a lapse of memory
• principles, practices and sound processes of the healthcare unit by means of which risks and dangerous situations are predicted and prevented
• prevention of human error (over half of treatment injuries can be prevented)
• learning together without blaming anyone
• a common cause for you as a patient and every healthcare professional treating you.

Patient safety involves the safety of treatment, the safety of medication and the safety of medical equipment. Every healthcare unit must have a system through which it reports and follows up incidents occurring in treatment. The unit must also draw up a patient safety plan under which the persons in charge are agreed on together with a method whereby the unit’s management bears responsibility for the requirements and resources to provide high-quality health services that are safe for patients.

If you are unhappy with the treatment you received, you should primarily try to work out the matter with the treatment provider. If a treatment injury has taken place or you suspect one, you can register an injury report with the Patient Insurance Centre.