Patient Safety Week (PSW) 2025: Protecting Newborns and Children from the Very First Moment

Patient Safety Week (PSW) 2025 will take place from September 15 to 19, coinciding with World Day, organized by the WHO on September 17. This year’s event, titled “Safe Care for Every Newborn and Child,” highlights the urgent need to improve the safety of pediatric and neonatal care.

Overview of Patient Safety Week 2025

a. History and Context of PSW

Patient Safety Week is an annual initiative organized by the Ministry of Health since 2011, aimed at raising widespread awareness of safety issues in medical care. In 2023, this week was aligned with the World Health Organization's (WHO) World Patient Safety Day to give this cause greater international impact. Each year, a specific theme is selected to address specific and priority issues in the field of health safety. src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/61f1c5bbc327ec3679e7457c/67e27ad4d7dfbcb8135e0b98_ea6a6f178dd30a2c1d966f24d813771e883568e8a56bacf8260d14958d18fdd2.png" width="auto" height="auto" loading="auto">

Since its inception, the SSP has led to many significant advances, such as the widespread adoption of rigorous hygiene practices, improved management of medication risks, and the involvement of patients and families in care processes. These achievements demonstrate the tangible and positive impact of this week of mobilization.

b. The Importance of a Week Dedicated to Pediatric Patient Safety

In 2025, the decision to prioritize the safety of care for newborns and children stems from a concerning observation: young patients are particularly vulnerable to medical errors and preventable complications. According to international studies, incidents related to pediatric and neonatal care—particularly in intensive care—remain far too common.

This week is therefore intended to bring together all stakeholders in the healthcare system—from hospitals to healthcare professionals, including families. It also aims to raise public awareness so that everyone understands the crucial role they play in ensuring the safety of care provided to the youngest members of the population.

Theme and slogan of the 2025 PHS

a. “Safe care for every newborn and every child”: Why this theme?

The theme chosen for National Safety Week 2025 addresses a critical public health priority: drastically reducing the risks associated with the care of pediatric patients. Every year, thousands of children are victims of adverse events associated with care (AEACs), often due to preventable errors. These events can have serious consequences for their health and long-term development.

This theme encourages deep reflection on current practices and calls for a broad effort to strengthen protocols, provide specialized training in pediatric care, and actively involve families in decision-making processes related to the safety and quality of care.

b. Deciphering the slogan “Patient safety from the start!”

The slogan adopted for this edition is “Patient safety from the start!” This slogan clearly expresses a commitment to protecting the most vulnerable from the moment they enter the healthcare system. It emphasizes that safety must be considered from birth, by anticipating potential risks and implementing the necessary preventive measures. This slogan also symbolizes a proactive philosophy for Patient Safety Week, focused on prevention, anticipation, and education. It encourages institutions to adopt a sustainable safety culture, raising awareness among both professionals and families about best practices to adopt from the earliest moments of a child’s life. Major Challenges in Pediatric and Neonatal Care Safety: a. Specific Risks Related to Pediatric Care: Pediatric care presents specific risks due to the fragility of young patients and the complexity of their medical needs. These risks include medication errors, complications during invasive procedures, and hospital-acquired infections. Managing these risks requires advanced training for professionals and constant vigilance.

b. Focus on high-risk situations (complex deliveries, neonatal resuscitation)

Certain medical situations, such as complicated deliveries or neonatal resuscitation, require special attention due to their high level of technical complexity and the stress they entail. These procedures often involve multidisciplinary teams and precise protocols, where even the slightest error can have serious consequences. This is why awareness and specialized training are essential.

Key Objectives of National Patient Safety Week 2025

a. Mass Awareness: Actions and Concrete Examples

The SSP 2025 plan includes large-scale communication campaigns to raise awareness among the public and healthcare professionals about the specific challenges of pediatric safety. Planned actions include educational workshops, continuing education sessions, and media campaigns that highlight real-life cases to illustrate the importance of daily vigilance.

b. Empowering Families: The Importance of Parental Education

Empowering families is a central focus of this edition. It aims to equip parents with the knowledge they need to quickly recognize warning signs in their child and communicate effectively with medical teams. Educational workshops and accessible resources will enable families to become full partners in ensuring safe care.

National Roadmap 2023–2025 and Its Impact on 2025

a. Objectives and achievements of the previous roadmap

The national roadmap for improving patient and resident safety, developed for the period 2023–2025, serves as a fundamental basis for the 2025 PMS strategy. Officially launched during PMS 2023, it sets specific priorities and objectives aimed at significantly strengthening the safety of care.

Among the key achievements of this roadmap, we can notably mention:

• The widespread adoption of reporting practices for adverse events associated with care (AEACs), with a significant increase in reports at French healthcare facilities between 2023 and 2024.
• The increased involvement of patients and families in clinical decision-making processes, with successful pilot programs in several French hospitals where patients helped develop safety protocols.
• The significant improvement in hospital hygiene practices, thanks to enhanced professional training and regular audits, has led to a substantial reduction in the rate of nosocomial infections during this period.

These advances provide a solid foundation for the 2025 Public Health Strategy (PHS), building on positive results and clearly identifying areas for improvement, particularly those specifically related to pediatric and neonatal care.

b. Strategic alignment between the roadmap and the 2025 theme

The choice of the 2025 PHS theme, which focuses on pediatric and neonatal care, is fully aligned with the priorities of the 2023–2025 national roadmap. This roadmap explicitly identifies children and newborns as a population that is particularly vulnerable to healthcare-related risks.

The roadmap highlights several priorities directly addressed in the PHS 2025, including:

• The development of specialized training for healthcare professionals in complex pediatric care and critical interventions, such as neonatal resuscitation.
• The promotion of active family involvement, as families are considered essential partners in improving the safety of pediatric care.
• Improving infection prevention practices, which are particularly crucial in pediatric settings where young patients are highly susceptible to infection.

The strategic alignment between the national roadmap and the PHS 2025 thus ensures the continuity and consistency that are essential for effective and sustainable results.

Active participation of healthcare facilities

a. How can we effectively engage healthcare professionals?

The active participation of healthcare professionals is essential to the success of the 2025 PHS. To ensure their commitment, healthcare facilities can implement several measures:

• Internal awareness: Organizing information sessions, specialized conferences, and discussion groups helps professionals better understand the specific challenges of pediatric and neonatal care. Testimonials from families affected by patient safety incidents can also raise awareness.
• Targeted practical training: Facilities can offer specialized training in medical simulation or hands-on workshops, particularly on critical topics such as medication errors in pediatrics or neonatal resuscitation.
• Recognition of professional initiatives: Highlighting and rewarding medical and nursing teams that have developed innovative and effective safety practices helps foster a positive and stimulating environment within the facility.

b. What types of events can you host at your venue?

To effectively mobilize support for PMS 2025, facilities can organize a variety of impactful events that are both informative and engaging:

• Interactive parent-caregiver workshops: These workshops give parents and healthcare teams the opportunity to discuss real-life cases, learn to communicate more effectively with one another, and understand how to respond to pediatric or neonatal emergencies.
• Full-scale simulations: By recreating emergency situations, such as pediatric resuscitation, facilities can test and improve team responses while raising awareness among professionals about specific procedures and strict protocols to follow.
• Expert conferences: By hosting recognized experts in pediatric patient safety, these conferences facilitate the sharing of the latest knowledge and the promotion of best practices among institutions. They may also feature testimonials from families, which help drive home the emotional impact of these issues and raise public awareness.

These diverse events enable institutions to strengthen their safety culture while actively involving all healthcare stakeholders, from medical teams to the families themselves.

Resources available for successful organization

a. Educational materials and tools provided by health authorities

To effectively support healthcare facilities in achieving their goals, the Ministry of Health and the High Authority for Health (HAS) provide a variety of resources specifically tailored to the 2025 theme:

• Downloadable educational kits: including posters, informational flyers, brochures for families on child safety, and visual aids to raise awareness of best practices in child care.
• Educational videos: short and informative, these videos quickly raise awareness among a wide audience on key topics, such as infection prevention in pediatric settings or the rapid recognition of concerning clinical signs in children.
• Methodological guides: precise and comprehensive, these guides provide scientifically validated standard protocols designed to improve the safety of pediatric and neonatal care.

These resources were developed by experts in the field, ensuring their reliability and scientific validity. Their user-friendly design allows institutions to quickly incorporate them into their action plans.

b. Training and Webinars for Professionals and Families

In addition to educational resources, distance learning activities will be implemented to enhance the skills of professionals and provide families with accurate information:

• Specialized Webinars: Organized in advance of the 2025 PMS (Pedagogical Support Week), these webinars address specific topics such as risk management in pediatric intensive care, prevention of medication errors, and training in communicating with families in situations of acute stress.
• Certified E-learning Modules: Available to all healthcare professionals, these online training courses provide an in-depth exploration of technical topics such as pediatric emergency protocols, hygiene practices in neonatology, and the principles of medication safety.
• Virtual Workshops for Families: Designed specifically for parents, these interactive workshops aim to empower them with knowledge about health and safety and help them better recognize warning signs related to their child's health.

These easily accessible training sessions are an effective way to expand the event’s reach and ensure a lasting impact beyond the event itself.

Best practices for a successful PMS 2025

To maximize the effectiveness of PMS 2025, here is a summary of best practices identified in previous editions:

• Systematically involve families from the event planning stage: their firsthand experience with care provides valuable insights and fosters engagement within the hospital community.
• Promote interactive and innovative formats—such as serious games, themed escape rooms, or "rooms of error"—that encourage active participation by teams and families.
• Ensure thorough post-event follow-up: by systematically evaluating the results of actions taken and incorporating feedback into a process of continuous improvement in patient safety.
• Use patient and family testimonials: their accounts evoke strong emotional responses and reinforce healthcare professionals' adherence to the proposed safety protocols.

Adopting these best practices ensures that each facility has a structured, effective, and sustainable approach to the safety of the most vulnerable patients.

Conclusion: Mobilizing all resources to ensure optimal pediatric safety from birth

Patient Safety Week 2025 represents an exceptional opportunity to mobilize all healthcare stakeholders in France around a crucial issue: ensuring safe care for every child from birth. This week should not be viewed merely as a one-time event, but as a decisive step in the sustainable evolution of medical practices. Healthcare facilities, drawing on concrete resources and the experience of past editions, have all the tools they need to achieve real progress. Close collaboration between professionals, health authorities, and families forms the foundation of enhanced safety, capable of effectively protecting future generations. "Patient safety from the outset" is more than a slogan: it is a shared and essential vision for the future of children’s health in France and around the world.