Canadian Alliance for Patient Safety (The ‘Alliance’)

Purpose of Alliance 

Patient safety is a critical aspect of care. Patient, family, and caregiver engagement at all levels of the system is a vital force for improvement. Since 2018, 20 partners set the foundation for the Alliance under the leadership of Patients for Patient Safety Canada (PFPSC) originally in partnership with the Canadian Patient Safety Institute, then Healthcare Excellence Canada and now the Institute for Safe Medication Practices Canada (ISMP Canada).

The Alliance provides a unique opportunity for collaboration and partnership between individuals and healthcare organizations who have a focus on patient safety. It aims to support and clarify the role of patients in their own care, and to improve the safety of healthcare journeys for all Canadians through partnership between patients and healthcare professionals.

The purpose of the Alliance is to:

• Grow a learning community of people and organizations focused on patient safety.
• Provide a forum for members to share information, data, actions and resources
• Ensure lived experiences with patient safety are central to mobilizing actions for improving safety
• Work together to advance specific safety objectives or initiatives brought forward by members.

As an Alliance, we share core principles about patient safety that shape the work we do, what we are learning with and from each other, and our collaborative actions. These core principles include:

• Meaningful engagement with patients, their families and caregivers, at all levels of the health system.
• Actions to advance safer care journeys while ensuring safe healthcare environments.
• Awareness that there is evidence of a crisis of unintended harm in healthcare.
• Understanding of potential risk factors, who is most vulnerable, how unintended harm in healthcare happens, and how it can be prevented and also the successes.
• Recognition of all forms of safety, including psychological and cultural safety and recognizing how systemic inequities contribute to various forms of harm.
• Collaboration, sharing and amplification among those interested and engaged in patient safety efforts

The membership in the Alliance is open to any organization or independent patient partner who has an interest in and is committed to patient safety across the health system. A minimum of two individuals represent each member organization in the Alliance, at least one of which must be a patient partner (connected with the organization) as the voices of patients are core to collaboration of the Alliance. Alliance members can invite observers and have alternates as needed. The current Alliance partners are:

• Atlantic Health Quality and Patient Safety Collaborative
• Health Quality BC
• Canadian Medical Association
• Centre for Excellence on Partnership with Patients and the Public (CEPPP)
• Childrens’ Healthcare Canada (CFAN)
• Choosing Wisely Canada
• Healthcare Excellence Canada
• Health Quality Council of Alberta and Family Advisory Group
• Health Standards Association
• IMAGINE Citizens Collaborating for Health
• Independent Patient Partners
• Institute for Safe Medication Practice
• Ontario Health
• Patients for Patient Safety Canada
• Patients Network for Patient Safety in Quebec
• Saskatchewan Health Authority
• Shared Health (Manitoba)
• Wounds Canada

Patients for Patient Safety Canada (PFPSC) facilitates this collective effort and all Partners have equal power in decision-making. PFPSC is grateful to Healthcare Excellence Canada for being co-chairs in this work from 2021- December 2024 and look forward to co-chairing with ISMP Canada from January 2025 to December 2026.

For more information on the Alliance, please contact hello@patients4safety.ca