SPECIAL EDITION ON EUROPEAN PATIENTS' RIGHTS DAY 2024
(XVIII EDITION)
&
ITS EU CELEBRATION AT THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

Watch the video interviews realized by the journalist Mariam Zaidi on the occasion of the European Patients’ Rights Day 2024 (click here for the Italian subtitled version) focused on the key role of HCPs for a healthier Europe. Indeed, 15 million people, 7% of the EU workforce, work in healthcare. Therefore, neglecting the health workforce crisis jeopardises current and future preventive and care options for citizens & patients.

European Patients’ Rights Day 2024 on the state of the European health workforce: “Why are we so silent about this ticking bomb?”
Doctors, nurses and all the HCPs are a fundamental pillar in moving towards more resilient national healthcare systems, but they are facing a crisis with considerable concern from all stakeholders, institutional and non-institutional. Read more about the conference organized at the EU Parliament by Active Citizenship Network on the occasion of the 18th European Patients' Rights Day.

Noel Abela
He has been working as a specialist nurse in a tertiary Hospital in Malta. He is now a senior infection prevention and control nurse and is a visiting senior lecturer at the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Malta. His main interests are Hand Hygiene, AMR and patient safety.

Corinne Hinlopen
Sociologist by background who later specialized as Master of Public Health. Corinne joined Wemos in 2014. Wemos was the lead partner in two European projects: AHEAD project on medical deserts; Pillars of Health project on the uneven availability of health and care workers.

Cristina Rey Valcárcel
General Surgeon in the Trauma and Emergency Unit at the Gregorio Marañón University Hospital in Madrid, Spain. Current Chair of the Advisory Council of the European Society for Trauma and Emergency Trauma (ESTES).

Oana Scarlatescu
Associate Director, Strategic Partnerships, in the Healthcare Systems team at the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), where she leads the patient engagement and partnerships work.

Martina Giusti
Italian radiographer, research fellow at the University of Florence. Engaged in the SAPIS (Studies and Action for Innovation in Healthcare), the research centre of the Italian National Federation of Radiographers and Technical, Rehabilitation and Prevention Health Professions (Federazione nazionale Ordini dei Tecnici sanitari di radiologia medica e delle professioni sanitarie tecniche, della riabilitazione e della prevenzione).

Vytenis Andriukaitis
Outstanding Lithuanian politician, EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety (2014-2019). V. Andriukaitis has been a practising surgeon with a specialization in cardiovascular surgery (more than 20 years). He is a co-author of the Independence Act of Lithuania (March 1990), and one of the co-authors of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania adopted in 1992.

George Griffin
Past-President of the European Academies of Medicine (FEAM) and Emeritus Professor of Infectious Diseases and Medicine at St George's, University of London. Professor Griffin was awarded the distinction of CBE in 2018 (Commander of the British Empire) for his research and its contribution to Public Health.

Mariano Votta
Responsible for EU Affairs of the Italian NGO Cittadinanzattiva and Director of its EU branch “Active Citizenship Network” (ACN). In 2015 he led the launch of the MEP Interest Group "EU Patients' Rights & Cross-Border Healthcare," endorsed by nearly 100 organisations across Europe.

Maya Matthews
Head of Unit responsible for State of Health in the EU, European Semester, Health Technology Assessment at the European Commission’s Health and Food Safety Directorate General (DG SANTE). Maya joined the European Commission in 2008.

Lyudmil Ninov
He has joined EHMA’s Team as the new Programme Manager in 2023. He is delivering on EHMA’s EU-funded projects, focused on planning, upskilling & reskilling the healthcare workforce.

Daniela Quaggia
Senior project manager at Cittadinanzattiva APS, since January 2010 she is a member of the EU branch of Cittadinanzattiva, ActiveCitizenship Network (ACN), focused on EU projects related to health, patients & citizens' engagement.

Click here to read the Conference’s programme
To download the speakers' list, click here
Click here to read the press release
Click here to watch the photo gallery on the Active Citizenship Network LinkedIn profile.
Click here to read the concept note of the 18th European Patients' Rights Day. To know more, click here.

The conference was realized thanks to the unconditional support of:

Press review

FEAM Newsletter (28 March 2024): “Federation of European Academies of Medicine (FEAM) attends the XVIII European Patients’ Rights Day”

HEALTH EUROPA (25th March 2024) "Healing the health workforce: A call to action for EU institutions" (EN)

QUOTIDIANO SANITÀ (21 March, 2024): Giornata europea dei diritti delle persone assistite. L’appello dei Tsrm e Pstrp: “Il fattore del valore umano è risorsa fondamentale” (IT)

TREND SANITÀ (18th March 2024): Il ruolo cruciale ma trascurato dei professionisti sanitari in Europa (IT)

HEALTH EUROPA (12th March 2024): European Patients’ Rights Day: Addressing skills shortage, medical desertification and job strain

EU HEALTH POLICY PLATFORM NEWSLETTER (6 March 2024) "20 March 2024 | European Parliament, Brussels: Celebration of the XVIII European Patients’ Rights Day" (EN)

EU HEALTH POLICY PLATFORM (27 February 2024) "20 March 2024 | European Parliament, Brussels: Celebration of the XVIII European Patients’ Rights Day" (EN)

The European Patients’ Rights Day & you: send us a video to celebrate it
As with previous editions of the EPRD, also this year Active Citizenship Network would like to celebrate the European Patients' Rights Day with messages from all the stakeholders who, over the years, have supported our ongoing commitment towards citizens and patients. If you wish, send us (via email: brussels@activecitizenship.net or WhatsApp to +393404932161) short video messages (maximum 30 seconds) and statements that highlight what European Patients' Rights Day means for you. Deadline: April 15th 2024. All messages and videos will be disseminated through ACN's channels in the days around April 18th 2024, after your explicit written permission in the email/message. Read more.

Survey: Join PROPHET in their goal to improve personalised prevention
In the European Union, more than 900,000 individuals die prematurely each year due to preventable disease risk factors. Transitioning from conventional disease treatment methods to a "person-centred" emphasis on prevention and early diagnosis could curb this trend.
Although prevention is nowadays a high priority at EU level, personalised preventive strategies are not as widely used as other personalised medicine approaches. To address this gap, we invite you to participate in a survey designed by PROPHET project, - of which Cittadinanzattiva-ACN is a member - on the perceived barriers, challenges, and enablers for the adoption of personalised prevention strategies in the EU and beyond. The survey was developed by researchers of the National Institute of Health Doutor Ricardo Jorge (INSA), in collaboration with the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (UCSC), and the Karolinska Institute (KI), and based on the literature and on interviews with experts in the area of personalised medicine.. PROPHET aims to support the definition and implementation of innovative, sustainable and high-quality personalised strategies that effectively tackle chronic diseases.You can access the survey here. The results will contribute to the development of a Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) for personalised prevention.

The SymptomSurvey from Vaccine Safety Initiative in collaboration with patient/citizen advocacy organizations.
When we communicate our symptoms to healthcare professionals, the message does not always get across. Symptoms that worry us, may not always get the attention they deserve. Help us change the way patients' perception of #symptoms is being recognized and taken into account in treatments. Share your experiences and expectations in the #SymtomSurvey �� available in 20+ languages HERE

19 April 2024 | Let's FACILITATE 2024 Webinar - Maximizing the societal benefit and lasting impact of clinical trials. REGISTER and SPREAD the NEWS!
Join Active Citizenship Network for an in-depth overview and roundtable discussion on the FACILITATE project and its promising innovations to enable the return of data to clinical trial participants. We will delve into the progress made so far and outline the next steps. What distinguishes this session is the inclusion of different perspectives from key stakeholders. Please, register HERE now to participate and read more.

23 - 26 April 2024 | Vaccine Virtual Days – Live & on demand
GSK Vaccine Virtual Days 2024 is one of the world's largest global medical education events dedicated to adult immunization: last year, when the director of Active Citizenship Network was involved in the panel, it reached 19.000 registrations
The 2024 edition will seek to intersect with the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing with the aim to predict where adult immunization will be in the next years. 
The four-day event will span across three different time zones, covering the most pressing adult immunisation topics.
For more information on the event programme and speakers, click here. For the registration, click here.

2 – 5 May 2024 | Menorca Island (Spain): XVII Pain Forum
This forum, as always organized by Sine Dolore European Pain Foundation, a historic partner of Active Citizenship Network, has been conceived since its inception as a space for debate, exchange and learning in which professionals from around the world analyze and share the medical advances achieved in the treatment of pain, an invisible disease that affects, according to the data made public by the World Health Organization, to 20% of the population. To download the programme, please click here. Read more

13 June 2024 BioReCer: Swedish stakeholder event
Save the date! The next regional stakeholders meeting of BioReCer project - of which Cittadinanzattiva-ACN is a member - is coming up!
This time, it will take place in Sweden. If you are situated there and are interested in #BioBased products made of organic residues from #forestry #agriculture #municipality or #fishery be part of this event!
We will elaborate on project developments and you will get a sneak peek on the innovative ICT-Tool that is currently in its final developmental stage!
To participate you have to be a registered member of the BioResources Stakeholders Platform (BRSP): https://biorecer.eu/brsp/