mr president i would like first of all to thank the committee on the environment public health and food safety for its work on this dossier and especially the rapporteur ms amalia sartori for her efforts on what is a health-care priority of the highest order
patient safety is about reducing adverse events which occur in all health-care settings in hospitals in primary care in long-term care or in the community
it is estimated that in eu member states between eight and twelve of patients admitted to hospitals suffer from adverse effects whilst receiving health care
these figures are unacceptably high
they paint a disturbing picture that affects not only patients but also their families and friends
in addition to this adverse events are a huge burden on health-care budgets and on the economy as a whole
health-care-associated infections are a specific example of a very common adverse event
the total number of hospitalised patients acquiring at least one health-care-associated infection in the eu every year has been estimated at eur four point one million equivalent to one in twenty hospitalised patients
approximately thirty-seven zero deaths are estimated to occur every year because of these infections
clearly we must strive to improve significantly this situation
member states have all recognised the patient safety challenge they face and have taken measures to tackle the problem
however we know that among the twenty-seven member states there are varying levels of awareness resources and expertise available to counter the problem
it is likely that patients in all member states are not benefiting from current research findings and the systematic exchange of best practice and expertise
therefore i feel that patient safety is another area where the eu can provide real added value to make all european patients safer while of course respecting member states responsibility for delivering health care on their territories
that is why the european commission put forward its communication and a proposal for a council recommendation on patient safety including the prevention and control of health-care-associated infections
i look forward to hearing your views
