Ministry calls for no-blame culture in patient safety

The Ministry of Health and Social Services has called for a “no name, no blame, no shame” culture in the healthcare system to encourage health workers to report mistakes, near misses and patient-safety incidents without fear.

Deputy executive director Taimi Amaambo made the call at the commemoration of World Patient Safety Day at Windhoek Central Hospital last week.

“For a culture of exceptional patient safety to fully be embedded in our healthcare system, we should first adopt a culture of learning rather than blame,” Amaambo said.

She said the ministry should create an environment where health workers can report incidents honestly and learn from them instead of hiding mistakes because of fear.

“When something goes wrong, we must ask not only ‘Who is responsible?’ but also ‘What happened? Why did it happen? What can we learn, and what must we change?’” she said.

Amaambo said patient safety is not simply about avoiding mistakes, but ensuring that every person receives safe, effective, timely, equitable, respectful and patient-centred care.

“Patient safety is a national responsibility,” she said.

She added that the responsibility is supported by the Constitution and various ministry frameworks.

Amaambo said policies and standards would only improve outcomes where they are implemented.

She questioned whether health facilities were reporting incidents, learning from near misses, responding to patient concerns, conducting audits and acting on their findings.

“This is where patient safety becomes real,” she said.

Amaambo said the ministry’s patient charter, ‘Your Health, Our Concern’, reminds patients of their rights to dignity and respect, information, privacy, participation and safe, quality care.

She said patients have a responsibility to participate actively in their healthcare.

She said the ministry’s strategic plan 2025/26–2029/30, which has a vision of ‘World Class Health for All’, provides a five-year roadmap built around people’s well-being, operational excellence and talent management.

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