On 5 May 2009, a global meeting, called by the WHO World Alliance for Patient Safety , was held to raise awareness on the importance of proper hand hygiene in health care centres aimed at both professionals as well as at patients and those accompanying them

The 2nd Workshop of the Citizen Trainers Network in Patients Safety about the safety use of medicines will be on June 6th. Last May the network held the 1st Training about Safety Care. This project is supported by the Spanish Ministry of Health and Social Policy

The first report by Project SENECA has now been published: “Standards of Quality of Care for Patient Safety in National Health System Hospitals”. It contains an exhaustive technical report which provides a precise explanation of the work performed by the research group and the model of care safety designed through the participation of numerous professionals, patients and citizens’ associations

Third Edition of the Prizes for Quality in the National Health System. The Ministerial Order SCO/715/2009, 9 March 2009, has been published, announcing the call for applications for the Prizes for Quality in the National Health System 2008. Applications may be submitted up to 30 June 2009

Applications are available for the first Risk Management and Improvement of Patient Safety Course on-line for EUNetPas partners

The Presentations made at the "Scientific Meetings. Support to Evidence-Based Decision-Making", which took place on 27 November 2008 in Madrid, are now available

The Fourth Meeting on Scientific Activity of the Nursing Directorate was held on 28 April 2009. Under the theme “Patient Safety in Nursing Care”, a review was made of the excellence objectives pursued in nursing within the framework of the Quality Plan, in the areas of Strategies, Scientific Evidence Resources and Patient Safety (Project Seneca)

On 12 May, the Ministry of Health and Social Policy was the venue for the Meeting of the Monitoring and Evaluation Committee for the Strategy on Cancer, of the National Health System. The reason for the Meeting was the updating of the content of the Strategy document, as work is under way on the revision of the targets of the Strategy, together with the recommendations and indicators. The scientific coordinator of the Strategy is Doctor Josep Maria Borras Andreu

Now available: the Report on Gender Violence 2007 in English. Drawn up by the Committee against Gender Violence of the Inter-territorial Board of the National Health System. The Report’s basic objective is to offer a general overview of the strategies, plans and programmes of comprehensive care for the health of women who are victims of gender violence

Now available: the National Health System Report 2007 in English. Drawn up by the National Health System Observatory, with the cooperation of the Autonomous Communities and individual experts. The Report provides a global perspective integrating the actions of the public health system for the improvement of the levels of health of the population

The 14th Spanish Primary Care Network (REAP) Scientific Meetings Series on “Immigration: New Challenges in Primary Care” was held in Bilbao on the 15th and 16th of May.

[+ Highlights]

The Citizen Trainers Network in Patients is a project funded and supported by the Spanish Ministry of Health and Social Policy and has been presented in different national and international events such as: XIV National Congress of Healthy Users Spanish Society (Mallorca 23rd may 2009) or in the II Workshop about Patient Safety in Primary Care (Granada 29th May 2009) ,in the ENRICH Conference (Salonika, Greek)

Health authorities implement the second phase of the health care programme for polymedicated patients in 31 health care centres in the Region (Europapress.com, 17/05/09)

Prize awarded to a study on medicines consumed by hospitalised patients (La Región, 14/05/09)

San Juan de la Cruz Hospital in Úbeda has published a guidebook for promoting the safe use of medicines (ideal.es, 29/04/09)

Sanitat informs more than 30,000 patients about their medication prior to their release from hospital (Europa Press, 24/04/09)

The European Parliament demands measures to prevent infections of patients in hospitals (Parlamento Europeo, 23/04/09)

The European Parliament backs a proposed directive on the right of patients to health care in another Member State (Parlamento Europeo, 23/04/09)

Within the framework of the Mental Health Programme of the Andalusian Health Service, a virtual platform has been created for knowledge management in Mental Health. This portal has been designed for the purpose of searching, selecting, analysing and synthesising the information existing in this area, as well as to make available to concerned professionals and groups the knowledge and practices which contribute value for the improvement of the quality of care and of the mental health of the population

[+ News]

• ENDs vacancies up to 15 June and 15 July 2009
  
  
• Now open: Tenth FIPSE CALL FOR APPLICATIONS for aid to research projects aimed at promoting advances in the prevention of and research on HIV/Aids infection.
  
  
• Course: “Women’s Health: Analysis from the Gender Perspective”. From 6 to 31 July 2009. Descriptive report on the course. Programme
  
  
• Gender Violence Prevention and Care Programmes, 4th edition. (8-10 June 2009, Escuela Nacional de Sanidad Carlos III, Madrid).