Opening International Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare

Speech of the Inspector General Gerrit van der Wal at the opening of the International Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare on April 6, 2011 in Amsterdam.

Ladies and gentlemen, good morning, 

I would also like to welcome you to the annual international forum on quality and safety in healthcare. I am proud that this year we convene in the Netherlands, in my hometown Amsterdam. 

When it comes to healthcare, these are the issues that have always been key all over the world, for every nation and every government for as long as we can remember: affordability, accessibility and quality. But at the end of the day, it’s all about quality; not just the quality of the cure, but also of long-term care and prevention. 
Quality and particularly safety are today’s top public health issues. 

We say public health, but what it’s really about is the public’s health. Every citizen should remain healthy because of prevention, the patient should get better because of the cure and the client should achieve a better quality of life through care. Or to put it differently, with the help of the five D’s concept: it all boils down to reducing Death, Disease, Disability, Discomfort and Dissatisfaction as much as possible. 
We all need to chip in so that this goal may be achieved, for instance by establishing good safety management and quality systems. Through leadership and governance. By developing and maintaining guidelines and standards. By means of the evaluation of interventions and by measuring effects. 

All based on a well-thought-out mix of intrinsic motivation combined with external carrots and sticks.

Many parties play a role in this: medical and other health care professionals, executives, managers and internal supervisory bodies, politicians and government workers, researchers, health care insurance companies and also external supervisory bodies such as the National Health Care Inspectorate in our country.

It is fabulous that all these parties have gathered here for the next few days in order to learn from each other. Furthermore, they have come from such a variety of nations: countries with similar challenges but different solutions. Share one another’s experiences and translate the lessons learned to your own practice or pass them on in your own country. I am convinced that by doing so, you will contribute to improving the public’s health, now and in the future. 

Ladies and gentlemen, I wish you an inspiring convention.

Thank you for your attention.

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