mr president today's debate illustrates parliament's high level of interest and concern regarding patient safety
it also sends a signal that this is an area of great potential for eu added value
for the most part the commission welcomes the proposed amendments for example we welcome the proposal for member states to designate competent authorities for patient safety at the various levels of state and local government administration
this reflects the fact that some member states have devolved systems of health care
we also agree that the scale and cost of data collection should not be disproportionate to the expected benefits
in relation to proposed amendments specific to health-care-associated infections we welcome the provision for adequate protection for health-care staff
we also support the highlighting of the morbidity and mortality burden of health-care-associated infections and the need to recruit more infection-control nurses
however i must raise some reservations and objections concerning the reduction of targets
some suggested that member states should provide the means necessary to bring about a twenty reduction in the number of persons affected by adverse events including an overall reduction in the eu of nine hundred zero cases each year
the commission does not think it is appropriate to set such targets at eu level as member states are at different stages and it would be very difficult to set suitable realistic and achievable targets that would be appropriate for them all
i have taken very careful note of what ms mcavan said about needle-stick injuries and i will think about a proposal for a special initiative
minister filipiová made a reference to the responsibility of member states in this aspect
our initiative on patient safety and health-care-associated infections fully respects the member states competence to finance structure and deliver health services as they see fit
the purpose of our proposal is to help member states to put in place the proper and adequate strategies to reduce or avoid adverse events in health care including health-care-associated infections by pooling the best available evidence and expertise in the eu and lending commission support to achieving economies of scale in this area
once this patient safety recommendation is adopted in the council it will signal an unprecedented political commitment from member state governments to prioritise patient safety in their health-care policies
action to reduce adverse events of all types including health-care-associated infections in all health-care settings and in all eu member states is a goal we all share
this proposal can play a big part in achieving this goal
