Patient Safety Bringing people together

As part of our World Patient Safety Day, Light It Orange for Patient Safety & Health System Safety campaign, a National Patient Safety Forum will be held in Auckland and livestreamed nationwide. Led by the Health Consumer Advocacy Alliance, Patient Voice Aotearoa and Kaitiaki Hauora, the forum will bring patients, whānau, health professionals, health leaders and political representatives together to talk openly about patient safety and, most importantly, what needs to change.

Patients and whānau will share their lived experiences directly with political representatives and talk about the changes they believe are needed to reduce avoidable harm and build a safer health system.

Four political representatives have already confirmed their attendance, representing three major political parties. This is not about politics for politics' sake. It is about making sure patient safety is part of the conversation, and that the people who experience healthcare have a voice in shaping what comes next. 

Register now - Patient Safety Forum - Part of World Patient Safety Day 2026 

What Does This Mean for Me?

 Find your own way to show up for patient safety.

There is important work already happening across our health system, and there are many people committed to making care safer. But we do need to show up alongside the international patient safety community. We need to make patient safety visible. We need to bring patients, whānau, health staff and decision-makers into the same conversation.

And we need to keep asking the most important question: What can we do differently to make healthcare safer?
That is what 17 September is about. Not simply acknowledging patient safety. Showing up for it. Making it visible. 
And turning the conversation into action.

It doesn't have to be big. It just needs to mean something to you.