Welcome our new President!
14 December 2022
Words from the new President
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After three years of hard work, the Foundation is beginning to see the fruits of its labour. It can now count on the support of a strong base of Affiliates, with organisations from different poles (patients, healthcare professionals, companies, universities, hospitals and industry), reflecting a willingness to share perspectives and address the complex challenges of patient safety. A committed and supportive Board of Directors meets regularly to steer its work, adapting to its rapid pace of development. Collaborations with other organisations at the European level are increasing, both in terms of advocacy and projects, for which the Foundation's support, network and expertise are sought. The Foundation has also succeeded in increasing its visibility, not only through the co-organisation with FOKUS Patient of its first patient safety conference in October 2022, but also through specific work on social networks and communication media to reach its different target audiences.
This did not happen by chance. Many of these achievements can be credited to those who, very early on, understood the value of raising the voice of Patient Safety to the highest level and federating, across Europe, all the organisations and energies that wish to contribute to improving the quality of care. Amongst these highly motivated people, I would like to give a special mention and warm thanks to Sven Staender and Mirka Cikkelova, whose names are inseparable from the Foundation's adventure especially in steering the relaunch work carried out over the last three years. Sven will continue to support our work from a different angle in his newly-elected role as an Advisory Board member.
To succeed in the next stage of our development, the Foundation must now take up 3 challenges:
1. Generate greater impact in the field of Patient Safety, where we must carry out projects at a European dimension, building on all the hard work already done by our Affiliates, prioritising the improvement and well-being of healthcare professionals and involving patients in their care;
2. Raise our visibility and contribute to the visibility of our affiliates, to support the dissemination of knowledge and good practices as well as advocacy objectives;
3. Strengthen our position by continuing to grow our affiliation base by extending our network and supporting the emergence of national patient safety organisations or platforms across Europe.
There is a lot of work to be done!
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Penilla Gunther
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EUPSF President
Founder of FOKUS Patient, Sweden