The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, says unsafe diagnosis, medication errors, poor communication and fragmented care can cause significant harm to patients living with non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

Mr Pate said this on Thursday in Abuja at a news conference to commemorate the 2026 World Patient Safety Day, themed “Safe Care for Non-Communicable Diseases”, with the slogan, “Safe Care for Life!”

He said the risks were particularly significant for patients requiring long-term care, as they often depended on multiple services, providers and treatments throughout their healthcare journey and management.

“Safe NCD care therefore requires strong health systems, competent and supported health workers, continuity and coordination of care, and meaningful involvement of patients in decisions concerning their health,” he said.

Mr Pate said NCDs, including cardiovascular diseases, cancers, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases, constituted a major health burden and often required prolonged interaction with the health system nationwide.

He said such interactions created safety risks across prevention, diagnosis, treatment, referral, follow-up and long-term management, making patient safety fundamental to quality and effective healthcare delivery.

Mr Pate said the ministry developed the National Patient Safety and Care Quality Policy and Implementation Strategy in 2024 to strengthen standards and improve healthcare outcomes nationwide.

He said the ministry further strengthened its commitment in January by establishing and inaugurating the national task force on clinical governance and patient safety nationwide.

According to him, the task force is mandated to strengthen systems and structures required to institutionalise clinical governance and patient safety across Nigeria’s healthcare facilities and services.

He added that the task force is developing a national framework on clinical governance and patient safety to guide efforts to strengthen accountability, quality improvement, and monitoring.

The minister said a strong clinical governance system must promote a “Just Culture”, where healthcare professionals could report incidents, near misses and safety concerns without fear.

“Our health institutions must have functional clinical governance and patient safety structures, effective incident reporting and learning systems, evidence-based clinical standards, quality improvement processes and regular performance reviews.

“Patient and family engagement must consequently remain central to our patient safety efforts, ensuring individuals participate actively in decisions concerning treatment, care plans and health outcomes.

“Patients should be treated with dignity and respect, adequately informed about their conditions and treatment options, and encouraged to participate meaningfully in decisions concerning their care,” he said.

Mr Pate urged stakeholders to recognise patient safety as a continuous commitment to improving healthcare quality rather than limiting efforts to an annual observance and commemoration.

The minister said the goal was to ensure that no Nigerian was harmed while seeking or receiving healthcare services across the country’s health institutions and facilities.

The ministry’s permanent secretary, Daju Kachollom, said the theme highlighted the ongoing healthcare journey of people living with chronic conditions and illnesses.

Ms Kachollom said patients with hypertension, diabetes, cancer or chronic respiratory diseases might require screening, diagnosis, medication, follow-up, referrals and monitoring across different parts of the health system.

She said patient safety involved building safety into how care was designed, delivered and experienced through appropriate standards, supported health workers and stronger referral pathways.

“A strong health system is not simply one that expands access; it is one that people can trust to provide care that is safe, effective, people-centred and continuous,” she said.

She urged health workers, managers, institutions, partners, patients and the media to make safety a standard guiding everyday care and healthcare delivery nationwide.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) representative, Pavel Ursu, said many Nigerians had suffered permanent disability or lost their lives following avoidable healthcare errors and incidents.

Mr Ursu said people living with diabetes, cancer, heart disease or chronic respiratory conditions often required years of consultations, tests, medicines, referrals and treatment across facilities.

He said NCDs caused at least 43 million deaths globally in 2021, while accounting for 37 per cent of deaths in the WHO African Region.

According to him, the proportion increased from 24 per cent in 2000, with nearly two-thirds of NCD deaths in the region occurring prematurely compared globally.

Mr Ursu said harm could arise from delayed or missed diagnoses, medication errors, adverse drug interactions, weak follow-up systems and poor communication between healthcare services.

He called for stronger primary healthcare systems to improve continuity, identify problems early and coordinate care effectively across different levels of healthcare delivery.

The WHO representative said approaches such as the WHO Package of Essential NCD Interventions and PEN-Plus were helping countries expand integrated NCD services.

He urged governments to embed patient safety in NCD policies, strengthen reporting and learning systems, and invest in health worker training and supervision.

Mr Ursu also encouraged patients and families to ask questions and raise concerns whenever providers’ explanations of their care were unclear or inadequate.

World Patient Safety Day is observed annually on September 17 to promote action against avoidable harm in healthcare. 

(NAN)