The mandate for real transparency and oversight finally passed. I am exhausted by the fight, but I am relieved that we forced them to accept responsibility for these preventable tragedies. We will stay watchful to ensure these new protocols actually reach the hospital floor.
November 27, 2013
Medical Errors Are Killing Canadians In Record Numbers: together we can reduce these unacceptable rates
Final supporters
In the past 11 years of the patient safety movement, our Canadian governments, federal and provincial, and the Canadian Medical Association have failed to protect Canadians from medical harm, and as a result, more than 250,000 people have died from medical error, many more have been injured, and millions of Canadian tax-dollars have been wasted on treating these resulting injuries, many of which were preventable. Medical error is the 3rd highest killer of Canadians, only behind cancer and heart disease.
Health Canada, its provincial counterparts, and the CMA need to be encouraged, need to be challenged to open the lines of communication and, with a genuine willingness, work quickly toward solutions to substantially reduce the rate of medical error. Lowering medical error rates will not start with physicians; the past has shown that present processes in place for dealing with medical error continue to lead to high rates of mortality and injury, and with such, garner the disgust of the families touched by medical harm. Health Canada, it's provincial counterparts, and the CMA could be that hero, a hero who is so desperately needed, needed to stem the tide of death by medicine.
By signing this petition, I will be helping the Institute of Medicine realize its 1999, and still unmet, vision of reducing medical errors by 50% through requesting:
1. Continued attention to system failures within healthcare.
2. Balancing no-blame with accountability for individual physicians
3. Better training of patient safety for all healthcare workers.
4. Providing a platform for those harmed by medical error to share
theirstory, and be heard.
5. Mandatory medical error disclosure to patients and their families.
6. Creating and maintaining a culture of patient safety which truly
valueshonest, transparent error communication where hospital
managementand physicians are accepting of their own
humannessand share awillingness to learn from their
medical mistakes.
7. All provinces and territories in Canada legislate mandatory
reportingand investigation of all medical errors. Currently, only
Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec have such legislation.
8. Explore a more open, honest and healing framework of conflict
resolution for medical error cases rather than adversarial
litigationso all involved can heal.
9. Educating Canadians on how best to protect themselves and
theirfamilies from medical harm.
By signing this petition, I will help to reduce medical error rates by requesting that Health Canada, its provincial counterparts, and the CMA take aggressive action to substantially lower rates of medical error. In doing so, I will be helping to save millions of Canadian lives, save billions of Canadian tax-dollars, and help direct our country down a path towards safer healthcare, healthcare that Canadians not only expect, but so rightly deserve.
Updates
October 11, 2013
A thousand people have added their names to this fight and it feels heavy to see so many families touched by this same grief. It is exhausting to revisit these losses but seeing this number confirms that we have reached a point where the status quo can no longer be ignored.
Reached 1,000 supporters
October 9, 2013
January 18, 2013
The stories arriving in my inbox are heavy and remind me exactly why this battle is worth fighting. I am currently spending my hours drafting formal requests for accountability from the officials who have ignored these tragedies for too long.
Reached 100 supporters
April 29, 2012
125 Comments
I have recently become certified in patient safety. Even though my role is infection preventionist, I continue to speak up and advocate for the patient as well as encourage others to speak up, employees and families and patients. Together we can work to fix the broken healthcare system!
I was really touched of Jessica's story and what her and her family went through watching the Youtube video. I am studying healthcare myself and want to prevent medical errors like this from happening as much as possible. Change needs to come quick to prevent stories like Jessica's.
I am a medical student. As I evolve in my medical journey, I will never overlook the fact that my decisions can have such a heavy impact on someone's life. I will be preoccupied with failure, so that I may never have to see it. I WILL CARE TO CARE.
Our family is in year 14 of our journey post medical error surrounding the death of our mother Esther. Our hearts go out to you... and like your family, our only way to heal has been to continue to work to make a difference through insisting on change.
Two things I have learned as I struggled through the medical system (with a serious disease): 1. Be your own advocate to stay alive and healthy and 2. Make sure you are heard or change doctors (I know~easier said than done).
This shouldn't have happened
I'm so sorry for your loss
Share Petition
Don't stop at signing, share the petition link with friends to multiply our impact
Copy link or share directly
The mandate for real transparency and oversight finally passed. I am exhausted by the fight, but I am relieved that we forced them to accept responsibility for these preventable tragedies. We will stay watchful to ensure these new protocols actually reach the hospital floor.
November 27, 2013
Medical Errors Are Killing Canadians In Record Numbers: together we can reduce these unacceptable rates
Final supporters
In the past 11 years of the patient safety movement, our Canadian governments, federal and provincial, and the Canadian Medical Association have failed to protect Canadians from medical harm, and as a result, more than 250,000 people have died from medical error, many more have been injured, and millions of Canadian tax-dollars have been wasted on treating these resulting injuries, many of which were preventable. Medical error is the 3rd highest killer of Canadians, only behind cancer and heart disease.
Health Canada, its provincial counterparts, and the CMA need to be encouraged, need to be challenged to open the lines of communication and, with a genuine willingness, work quickly toward solutions to substantially reduce the rate of medical error. Lowering medical error rates will not start with physicians; the past has shown that present processes in place for dealing with medical error continue to lead to high rates of mortality and injury, and with such, garner the disgust of the families touched by medical harm. Health Canada, it's provincial counterparts, and the CMA could be that hero, a hero who is so desperately needed, needed to stem the tide of death by medicine.
By signing this petition, I will be helping the Institute of Medicine realize its 1999, and still unmet, vision of reducing medical errors by 50% through requesting:
1. Continued attention to system failures within healthcare.
2. Balancing no-blame with accountability for individual physicians
3. Better training of patient safety for all healthcare workers.
4. Providing a platform for those harmed by medical error to share
theirstory, and be heard.
5. Mandatory medical error disclosure to patients and their families.
6. Creating and maintaining a culture of patient safety which truly
valueshonest, transparent error communication where hospital
managementand physicians are accepting of their own
humannessand share awillingness to learn from their
medical mistakes.
7. All provinces and territories in Canada legislate mandatory
reportingand investigation of all medical errors. Currently, only
Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec have such legislation.
8. Explore a more open, honest and healing framework of conflict
resolution for medical error cases rather than adversarial
litigationso all involved can heal.
9. Educating Canadians on how best to protect themselves and
theirfamilies from medical harm.
By signing this petition, I will help to reduce medical error rates by requesting that Health Canada, its provincial counterparts, and the CMA take aggressive action to substantially lower rates of medical error. In doing so, I will be helping to save millions of Canadian lives, save billions of Canadian tax-dollars, and help direct our country down a path towards safer healthcare, healthcare that Canadians not only expect, but so rightly deserve.
Updates
October 11, 2013
A thousand people have added their names to this fight and it feels heavy to see so many families touched by this same grief. It is exhausting to revisit these losses but seeing this number confirms that we have reached a point where the status quo can no longer be ignored.
Reached 1,000 supporters
October 9, 2013
January 18, 2013
The stories arriving in my inbox are heavy and remind me exactly why this battle is worth fighting. I am currently spending my hours drafting formal requests for accountability from the officials who have ignored these tragedies for too long.
Reached 100 supporters
April 29, 2012
125 Comments
My son was misdiagnosed also when they finely took a blood test and took a scan they discover he had cancer but it was too late , stage 4.His doctor assume it was just back pain.Doing nothing is their "do no harm"
I have recently become certified in patient safety. Even though my role is infection preventionist, I continue to speak up and advocate for the patient as well as encourage others to speak up, employees and families and patients. Together we can work to fix the broken healthcare system!
I was really touched of Jessica's story and what her and her family went through watching the Youtube video. I am studying healthcare myself and want to prevent medical errors like this from happening as much as possible. Change needs to come quick to prevent stories like Jessica's.
I am a medical student. As I evolve in my medical journey, I will never overlook the fact that my decisions can have such a heavy impact on someone's life. I will be preoccupied with failure, so that I may never have to see it. I WILL CARE TO CARE.
Our family is in year 14 of our journey post medical error surrounding the death of our mother Esther. Our hearts go out to you... and like your family, our only way to heal has been to continue to work to make a difference through insisting on change.
Two things I have learned as I struggled through the medical system (with a serious disease): 1. Be your own advocate to stay alive and healthy and 2. Make sure you are heard or change doctors (I know~easier said than done).
This shouldn't have happened
I'm so sorry for your loss
Share Petition
Don't stop at signing, share the petition link with friends to multiply our impact
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My son was misdiagnosed also when they finely took a blood test and took a scan they discover he had cancer but it was too late , stage 4.His doctor assume it was just back pain.Doing nothing is their "do no harm"