Canadian Patient Safety Week – Oct. 27 – 31, 2025
Survey closes Nov. 2, 2025 at midnight.
This year, we are putting a spotlight on Manitoba’s It’s Safe to Ask resource.
This year’s theme is about including all voices in making care safer. This includes the voices of patients, clients, families, the public (our future patients/clients), and all healthcare team members.
Recent data shows that in 1 in 17 hospital stays involved at least one harmful event. This data is only for acute care services.
In the past, patient safety efforts have been focused on potentially preventable physical harm. But healthcare harm can come in other forms, such as psychological, spiritual and social harm. Despite best efforts, rates of patient harm are not decreasing. Partnering with patients, families, communities and the public to learn and work together is important to strengthen safe care. Learn more on the Healthcare Excellence Canada’s Spotlight Series page.
It’s Safe to Ask is a resource that patients, clients, residents and their families can use to learn more about their health and fully participate in their plan of care. We are also working to raise health care team members’ awareness of this resource, so everyone can work together to make sure health services are safe and meet the patient, client or resident’s needs.
What can staff and healthcare team members do to support and acknowledge all voices, for safer care?
- Use Plain Language with Clients, Patients and Residents
- Promote the Use of It’s Safe to Ask resources
- Encourage Clients, Patients and Residents to Ask Questions
- Create a Safe Space for Questions, through verbal and non verbal communication
Did you know?
Many Manitobans wonder about what questions to ask to learn more about their health.
Some patients, clients, and residents may be worried about how their healthcare team will respond to questions. Comfort level with asking questions of healthcare team members may be affected by:
- Health literacy (a person’s understanding of their health, finding information about their health needs and using it to make health decisions)
- How they have been treated in the past while asking questions
- Relationship with their healthcare provider
- Experiences of trauma, systemic racism and/or stigma
Videos
It’s Safe to Ask
Second Opinions
Learn to be Safe
Safety Huddle Tools
Participating in Safety Huddles can encourage you & your team to think about talk about health-care harm and patient safety.
Events
Resources
- CPSW 2025 Poster
- CPSW 2025 Meeting Background
- It’s Safe to Ask Poster | French
- Medical Test Follow-Up Brochure | French
- Five Questions to Ask About Your Medications | French
- It’s Safe to Ask Medication Card | French
Contact Us
Do you have questions or suggestions for patient safety? Contact us at [email protected].