Friday 15 August 2025 | 10:50-12:20 

Format: Presentation

Stream: Safety

Part 1: Designing for Patient Safety for Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs)

Despite significant advancements in global healthcare, low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) continue to face major challenges in ensuring patient safety, especially in public hospitals. Joint Commission International (JCI) has developed the strategic “JCI Patient Safety Pathways Initiative” to address these gaps.

The initiative supports the development of patient safety and quality improvement programs through partnerships with ministries of health, healthcare organizations (HCOs), and national and international entities. It focuses on creating pathways for incremental improvement, involving high-level advocacy, policy dialogue, needs assessment, gap analysis, action planning, technical support, and capability building.

This session will outline the initiative’s design, highlight best practices from its implementation in demonstration sites, and align the work with the Global Patient Safety Action Plan 2021–2030. The goal is to equip healthcare leaders with strategies for building safer, more resilient, and sustainable health systems in LMICs.

Key session outcomes:

1. Identify major challenges and barriers low- and middle-income countries face in ensuring patient safety.
2. Outline key strategies for patient safety design essential to bring significant reduction in patient harm, and build safer, resilient and sustainable health systems. 
3. Share best practices and learnings from the implementation of JCI Patient Safety Pathways Initiative aligned with the Global Patient Safety Action Plan 2021-2030.

Neelam Dhingra Joint Commission International; Switzerland

Part 2: Implementing a Safety Plan to Enhance Care for Service Users at Risk of Self-Harm in a Tertiary Mental Health Hospital

The session will cover the implementation of safety planning interventions, which have been shown to significantly reduce the risk of self-harm behaviour among service users in a tertiary mental health hospital. By focusing on safety planning that involves service users in their care, the presentation emphasizes the importance of person-centered approaches. Delegates will learn how to empower service users to recognize warning signs and develop personalized coping strategies, fostering a sense of ownership over their mental health. Delegates will also gain understanding into how these evidence-based practices can be integrated into existing care protocols, enhancing patient safety and outcomes. Lastly, the discussion around safety planning and self-harm can contribute to reducing stigma associated with mental health issues. Delegates will gain insights on how they can become advocates for change within their organizations, promoting a culture of co-creating quality care.

Key session outcomes:

Impact
1. Appreciate the imperative value of safety-planning in reducing self-harm incidences
2. Learn how to facilitate the co-creation of safety planning using person-centered approach
3. Gain understanding on the process of integrating and implementing harmonised safety plan at a system level

Cheryl Goh Institute of Mental Health; Singapore
Jancirani Annamalai Institute of Mental Health; Singapore

Part 3: Solving Hospital Access and Flow: Practical Strategies from Victoria’s TEC2 Program

Solving hospital access and flow challenges is complex work: there are no silver bullets. Drawing on the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s global expertise in leading system-wide change over the past 30 years, this session will explore how Victoria’s Timely Emergency Care (TEC2) program is tackling these challenges head-on. With over 30 hospitals involved, TEC2 supports services to build the improvement capability, change leadership, and collaborative culture needed to unblock flow and improve access – grounded in both clinical and operational expertise. We’ll share what’s working, what we’ve learned, and the critical conditions for achieving system-wide impact. Attendees will leave with practical insights to inform their own hospital or regional flow strategies.

Key session outcomes: 

1. Recognise common system-level barriers to hospital access and flow, and how hospitals are addressing them.
2. Apply practical lessons from TEC2 sites to strengthen hospital flow improvement initiatives.
3. Identify critical success factors for achieving and sustaining whole-of-hospital flow.

Ed Robertson Institute for Health Improvement (IHI); Australia