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About Us

The Manitoba Institute for Patient Safety (MIPS) was created in 2004 by the provincial government in response to recommendations made by the Manitoba Patient Safety Steering Committee.

The Institute will promote, coordinate and facilitate activities that have a positive impact on patient safety throughout Manitoba while enhancing the quality of health care for Manitobans.

The Manitoba Institute for Patient Safety (MIPS) is incorporated under The Corporations Act. The Manitoba Institute for Patient Safety is a registered charity. Individuals and organizations that would like to donate to the Manitoba Institute for Patient Safety may call (204) 927-6477 for information and forms.

The Institute is an independent non-profit organization that receives core funding from a provincial government grant to cover operational costs. The curious may consult the Institute’s Bylaws (BY-LAWS No. 1 and BY-LAWS No. 2).The Institute is under the direction of a Board of 12 Directors, five appointed by the Minister of Health, and seven elected by the membership. The Institute welcomes new members.

Click here to view our milestone pamphlet.


Why Focus On Patient Safety?

Most of the time, people’s experiences as patients, family members, and healthcare providers in the healthcare system are positive. However, at times things do not go as planned. In Canada and the world, there are large numbers of people who are harmed or who die as a result of their care and not the treatment process or risks involved.

Patient safety is defined as:

Actions and processes of healthcare providers, healthcare organizations, and the public to prevent patient harm associated with healthcare services and to promote the best possible patient outcomes.

Patient safety involves the complicated interaction among institutions, technologies, and individuals, including patients themselves. In other words, patient safety is everyone’s responsibility.

Healthcare providers try to do the right thing, but because they work in a complicated, imperfect system, at times patient safety incidents reach the patient. Some incidents do not cause harm, but others do affect patients - the people healthcare providers are committed to helping.

In a 2004 study, there was an adverse event rate of 7.5% of the almost 2.5 million annual hospital admissions in Canada. About 185,000 of the admissions were associated with an adverse event and the study estimated that close to 70,000 of those were potentially preventable.

The tradition and culture of healthcare provision has been one that suggests that error is unacceptable, and acknowledgement of mistakes is an admission of lack of skill. It has become evident from our successes, and from patients who have been harmed during the healthcare delivery process, that this approach has not led to the development of a culture that supports learning.

An important example of the way in which this kind of learning can occur across an entire healthcare system is documented in the process following the Manitoba Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Inquest.

The report of the investigation following the deaths of 12 babies in 1994 at the Health Sciences Centre:

  • Identified the conditions that existed when the patients were harmed, which allowed other organizations to assess for similar vulnerabilities in their processes;
  • Included recommendations that other organizations could implement to facilitate the creation of a safer system for all Manitobans; and
  • Highlighted three key areas:
  • Leadership – development of a leadership and accountability system at all levels of the organization;
  • Team Approach – use of a team approach for program management and day-to-day healthcare delivery; and
  • Interprofessional Collaboration – strengthening the processes and infrastructure to better support interprofessional collaboration.

INFORMATION VIDEO

In Spring, 2005, MIPS held an Information Session on patient safety and the role of the Manitoba Institute for Patient Safety. Sections of a video of the session can be viewed here:

  • Dr. Paul Thomas, Chair, Manitoba Institute for Patient Safety, providing an overview of MIPS (Click here to view the video)
  • Dr. Rob Robson, MIPS Board Member, Director of Patient Safety, Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, providing an overview of various local, national and international trends, issues. (Click here to view the video)

Call the Manitoba Institute for Patient Safety at 927-6477 for a VHS, CD-Rom copy of the orientation session. You can also download the Power Point presentation.

MIPS DOCUMENTS

To assist in its 2005 stakeholder consultations, MIPS created Moving Forward, which describes the Institute’s purpose and sets strategic directions for 2005 and beyond. We have also published a brief, summarized version entitled The Patient: Health Care’s First Priority.Also available:

Board Meeting Minutes