Honourable senators, I rise to mark Canadian Patient Safety Week 2017, this year from October 30 to November 3.

In Canada, someone dies in hospital from an adverse event every 17 minutes. That’s equivalent to 31,000 people a year. One out of every 18 hospital visits results in preventable harm or even death, and in home care, up to 13 per cent of people experience an adverse event, such as medication error. The scope of the problem is far more significant than most people realize, which is why it’s so important that we raise awareness and make patient safety a priority.

Spearheaded by the Canadian Patient Safety Institute, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving patient safety, Canadian Patient Safety Week is an opportunity for all Canadians to share information about best practices in this area.

This year, patients and health care professionals are encouraged to start conversations about the five questions to ask about your medications and to talk with one another to increase awareness of medication safety issues.

Honourable senators, I would be remiss if I did not mention that Parliament has already taken critical action to improve patient safety by giving the government new powers to better protect Canadians from adverse drug reactions. Among other measures, the Protecting Canadians from Unsafe Drugs Act, known as Vanessa’s Law, requires health care institutions to report serious adverse drug reactions and medical device incidents.

During Canadian Patient Safety Week, I encourage us to work together as leaders in our communities to increase awareness and help to create a universally accepted culture of patient safety in our health care system, one that includes mandatory reporting of all serious adverse drug reactions. It is a small but important step and it is indeed a matter of life and death.