The 2013-2017 national patient safety programme (PNSP) is the first programme in France to take a cross-cutting approach to patient safety throughout the patient’s journey. Underpinned by ambitious targets mainly the improvement in the safety culture of all stakeholders including the users, this programme has enabled a strong regulatory framework to be defined, with the drafting of legal texts and development of educational guides and tools by the French National Authority for Health (HAS).

The evaluation concerned three priorities of the programme (1: information for patients, getting patients actively involved in their safety; 2: improving the declaration and treatment of adverse events associated with care; 3: training, safety awareness, healthcare organization support). The evaluation of the PNSP by the HCSP proposes recommendations for the future patient safety policy, organized across 3 priorities:

1. promoting new targets for developing patient safety,
2. pursuing a highly-visible structured patient safety policy,
3. determining the terms behind the future governance of the patient safety Policy.

These recommendations particularly bear on consolidating the adverse event reporting systems, continuing to develop common culture of patient safety and improving communication.

Given the current public health challenges, the HCSP urge for a swift follow-up to the 2013-2017 PNSP.