WFSA experts discuss how to strengthen neonatal and paediatric anaesthesia outcomes for World Patient Safety Day 2025.
Every year on 17 September, World Patient Safety Day reminds us of our shared responsibility to make healthcare safer for everyone, everywhere. In 2025, the World Health Organization (WHO) has chosen the theme:
“Patient safety from the start!” — Safe care for every newborn and every child.
In support of this, experts from WFSA’s committees on Obstetrics, Paediatrics, and Safety & Quality are joining forces this year to shine a spotlight on one of the most vulnerable groups of patients: newborns and children under five.
Safe anaesthesia is not a luxury — it is a lifesaving necessity. Anaesthesia is a human right. Yet, for many newborns requiring surgical or diagnostic procedures, safe anaesthesia remains out of reach. These children face unique risks: their developing bodies, limited physiological reserves, and dependency on highly specialised equipment and expertise make them particularly vulnerable to harm. Even rare anaesthesia-related adverse events can have life-changing or life-ending consequences.
Why focus on newborns and under-fives?
WHO highlights that every child deserves safe care right from the start of life. Complications during anaesthesia or surgery not only threaten survival, but also long-term development. Efforts to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3.2 — ending preventable deaths of newborns and children under five — cannot succeed without addressing anaesthesia safety.
Preventable complications from unsafe anaesthesia contribute to avoidable morbidity and mortality in children, from failed airway management and medication errors to cardiovascular instability and hypothermia. These complications can mean longer hospital stays, neurological impairment, chronic illness, devastating emotional strain on families, and increased costs for health systems.
What makes neonatal anaesthesia uniquely challenging?
- Fragile physiology – Newborns’ immature organ systems affect how they process anaesthetic drugs, leaving little margin for error.
- Equipment gaps – In many settings, there is a lack of appropriately sized circuits, catheters, and monitoring equipment.
- Specialist training – Safe neonatal anaesthesia requires highly trained teams, yet many clinicians lack access to specialised education and simulation-based training.
- Systemic limitations – Under-resourced hospitals may lack the staffing, protocols, or safety culture needed to minimise risks.
The path to safer care
Improving safety for newborns and young children demands a multi-faceted approach:
- Policies and standards: National guidelines, accreditation of facilities, and adequate resourcing for specialised equipment.
- Clinical precision: Weight-based dosing, advanced monitoring (including capnography), effective airway management, and strict temperature control protocols.
- Education and empowerment: Specialist training, simulation-based learning, and engaging parents as informed partners in care.
- Collaboration: Strong partnerships between anaesthesiologists, obstetricians, neonatologists, surgeons, nurses, policymakers, and global health institutions.
Around the world, promising initiatives are already making a difference. Progress is being made, from introducing minimum standards in obstetric anaesthesia, expanding access to capnography monitoring, and embedding anaesthesia and surgical safety in maternal and child health policies – but there is much more to do.
This World Patient Safety Day, WFSA joins the WHO in calling for collective action to strengthen the safety of the youngest patients in anaesthesia. By closing equipment gaps, investing in specialised training, and embedding safe anaesthesia services within health systems, we can save lives and secure healthier futures for millions of children worldwide.
Let’s make patient safety a reality for every child, everywhere.
Join WFSA’s Special WPSD Webinar 2025
Precision and Protection: Advancing Anaesthesia Safety in Newborn Care for UHC and Ending Preventable Deaths of Children Under 5
17 September 2025 | 13:00 BST
The session, co-hosted by WFSA’s Safety & Quality, Paediatric Anaesthesia, and Obstetrics committees, will focus on practical strategies to enhance safety in newborn anaesthesia, aligned with WHO’s global call to action.
It will bring together global experts to address the unique challenges of anaesthesia in newborns and young children, including fragile physiology, equipment gaps, and workforce limitations.
The session will highlight clinical best practices such as weight-based dosing, advanced monitoring including capnography, airway management, and temperature control, alongside system-level strategies like national guidelines and facility accreditation. Participants will also learn about educational resources, simulation-based training, and capacity-building initiatives that support safer care, while exploring how safe paediatric anaesthesia contributes to Universal Health Coverage.
Obs and Paeds Resources from WFSA
WFSA offers a wide range of open-access educational materials to support anaesthesia professionals worldwide in delivering safer care to newborns and young children:
- Safety and Quality Committee Recommended Paediatric Guidance
- Anaesthesia Tutorial of the Week (ATOTW):
- Update in Anaesthesia:
- Anaesthesia and Babies — covering neonatal physiology, risk factors, and practical considerations for safe anaesthesia in infants.
- UIA Volume 34 – Special Obstetric Anaesthesia edition
- WFSA’s Virtual Library
- WFSA YouTube
- Search our YouTube playlists for a wide range of short educational Paediatric Anaesthesia videos
These resources and more can be accessed freely at resources.wfsahq.org.
