JEDDAH — Saudi Arabia will host the fourth Global Ministerial Patient Safety Summit in Jeddah on March 2-3. The summit is one of the most important patient safety initiatives at the international level and the-first-of-its-kind in the region. Director General of the Saudi Patient Safety Center (SPSC) Dr. Abdulelah Al-Hawsawi expressed his gratitude to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman for patronizing the conference, a gesture that embodies the Saudi leadership's attention and continuous support for the health service, as well to maintain the health and safety of all community members. The global event will bring together health ministers of more than 50 countries, director general of World Health Organization (WHO) and patient safety experts, added Al-Hawsawi. He said the summit reflects the Kingdom's pioneering role in supporting patient safety at regional and international levels, and it comes as a continuation of the Patient Safety Summit series, which started in 2016 by the United Kingdom and the Federal Republic of Germany with the endorsement of WHO, in an endeavor to boost the global movement to support patient safety. The present summit will focus on strategies that will support the integration of patient safety as an essential element in achieving universal health coverage (UHC) in all countries. The aim is to raise awareness, foster contextual applicability particularly in line with accelerating development of resources, as well as actively engaging stakeholders in fruitful discussions that cover an array of topics, including patient empowerment, policymaking and digital health and its impact on patient safety. Patient safety is considered as a top priority and a cornerstone for the healthcare services system. The SPSC is one of the initiatives of the health system to improve the healthcare and in implementation of one of the most important initiatives of the National Transformation Program (NTP) in the health sector. The center represents a national reference for all matters related to patient safety and to help prevent medical errors. It works to develop the national strategy for patient safety in harmony with the initiatives of the NTP in the health sector. — SG
