Our Mission

The 2000 "To Err is Human" report by the Institute of Medicine highlighted the grave impact of preventable errors in healthcare, causing over 210,000 deaths annually in US hospitals alone, ranking as the third leading cause of death. This revelation spurred a revolution in healthcare delivery, focusing on quality improvement and patient safety. While progress has been made in high-income countries, low- and middle-income countries still face significant challenges in addressing this issue, despite its heavy toll on both human lives and healthcare finances.

With that in mind, we established a Centre for Patient Safety in 2020 which is a new multi-disciplinary research, teaching, learning, and advocacy Centre designed to investigate the conditions affecting patient care and promote systemic patient safety, identify medical errors, and help develop and implement strategies to prevent patient harm in developing countries. 

Through the expressed goal of promoting excellence in patient safety and care, eliminating preventable harm, and developing local and global leaders in sharing knowledge through quality improvement and implementation science, the Centre seeks a profound effect on the safety culture and provision of healthcare and its delivery in Pakistan and other LMICs, and the health outcomes of patients. It will distinguish AKU as a national, regional, and global leader in patient safety and quality improvement science.

The Centre will be aligned with AKU's mission and vision to improve patient safety in Pakistan.