World Patient Safety Day - Lucky's story
World Patient Safety Day (17 September) aims to raise global awareness about patient safety and call for solidarity and united action by all countries and international partners to reduce patient harm.
Alongside Communities is the Solent approach to engagement and inclusion and was co-created with people from our local communities - including community groups, voluntary organisations and people who work in our services. It describes our ambitions to improve health, reduce health inequalities and improve the experience of care for people who use our services.
Lucky Haque, a Patient Safety Partner, has come on board as part of this work. We find out more about Lucky as well as what it means to work alongside communities and patients to ensure we keep everyone safe and well.
“My role as a patient safety partner is to be a vital pair of eyes and ears to ensure patient safety and compliance is at it’s best. It’s also to co-produce patient safety initiatives within Solent with voices and thoughts from people in our diverse communities.
“One of the most important things about my role is to be a friend to patients, walk in their shoes, offer non-bias criticism, and offer views from a patient’s perspective.”
Lucky also tells of how she came about joining the Trust.
“I heard about the role from the community engagement team, and it’s been interesting so far. I’ve been visiting wards and speaking with patients to find out about their care, their concerns and what’s going well. Its very important that Solent looks at patient safety as a priority and can sort things when mistakes do get made, as they have an impact on patients and their families.
“Community engagement is also vital to this. At Solent we feel communities should be engaged with frequently to find out what the needs are, what challenges certain groups may be facing and how we can help solve this through the way we deliver care. Communities provide a wealth of knowledge and can help us make healthcare more accessible and to reduce health inequalities – their lived experience is extremely valuable.
“I am looking forward to continuing my work and listening to the stories and expertise that comes from meeting people from all walks of life, for the benefit of better care.”