Last 26 April, we celebrated the 17th European Patients’ Rights Day organized each year by Active Citizenship Network (ACN).
Now more than ever, with the continuing health and humanitarian crisis, the celebration of the European Patients’ Rights Day is an opportunity to send a message of hope and constant commitment to protecting the health and well-being of citizens.
In this context, Active Citizenship network organised the conference Advance Therapy Medicinal Products in Europe: combining sustainability, innovation and respect for patients’ rights, at the European Parliament in Brussels, kindly hosted by MEP Brando Benifei (S&D) and organised with the support of
the MEPs Interest Group “European Patients’ Rights & Cross-Border Healthcare” and the TRANSFORM MEP Interest Group.
This year’s conference aimed to be a collector of the best and most relevant existing experiences at the European level on the topic of Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs), bringing together leading professionals and top institutional authorities who are touched by the topic in their areas of responsibility and intervention. Advanced Therapies are becoming not only a hope but a reality of treatment for patients suffering from serious diseases that have not yet found a concrete therapeutic answer. From the research towards a growing number of ATMPs to their use once approved, the unifying themes seem to be essentially the following: sustainability, innovation, access, and equity. To these, from our point of view, two additional elements should be added as drivers in decisions related to ATMPs: respect for and reinforcement of patients’ rights. It is no coincidence that the topic of ATMPs is linked to several patients’ rights included in the European Charter of Patients’ Rights, which is at the heart of the EPRD celebrations.
Every year the European Union of Private hospitals (UEHP) sends a message of support to ACN. In this year’s message our Secretary General, Ms Ilaria Giannico, stated: “We need to improve the overall provision of care and think jointly about environmental issues by always putting the patient at the centre and ensuring that patients’ rights are applied equally in all Member States”. She also spoke about the importance of guaranteeing the safety and wellbeing not only of the patients but also of the healthcare workforce in hospitals. Shortages of healthcare workers have a direct and strong impact on the quality and services of the care we give to our patients.
View the full video message here
