In September we celebrated World Patient Safety Day – the call for global solidarity and concerted action by all countries and international partners to improve patient safety.

The Canterbury West Coast Air Rescue Trust, GCH Aviation and our air ambulance teams have a strong focus on patient safety. What this means is that we aim to prevent risks, errors and avoidable harm that may occur to our patients. Our focus includes things like ways of reducing medication errors or improving infection control (for example by better hand washing).

The World Health Organisation (WHO) theme for World Patient Safety Day 2021 is ‘maternal and newborn safety’ to reduce death and disability associated with pregnancy. The GCH clinical team have focussed on the care of pregnant patients and newborns as our way of supporting the WHO, and ensuring the safety of our patients as we transfer them to hospital.