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PRACTICAL GUIDE: PATIENTS 'RIGHTS IN RELATION TO STATE INSTITUTIONS - THE RIGHT TO HEALTH

"Be informed, not abused!", LEGISLATIVE INTERPRETATION, Resources, News

What tools do we have to defend our rights in relation to the health system that is meant to save us?

 

Contents:

I.Background / Introduction

II.What terrible situations we have encountered, through your messages

II.2. We always complain about unfair and/or abusive situations

 

CONTEXT / INTRODUCTION

This is the last part of the chapter on health and our rights in relation to the health system. There is still a lot to be said and done. We have sent requests for action to the Ministry of Health. Many hospitals are under the authority of municipalities and local councils, and here, too, it is up to local decision-makers. They all want the system to work, to save us, but they, and the health workers, and we, must act. Otherwise, everything goes on and on, but not for the better, only for the worse.

 

Last year, we partly addressed the issue of patients' rights in relation to state institutions and health care providers, through a piece published on the FACIAS Project website "Be informed, not abused!", which you can see here: https://facias.ro/ghid-practic-pacienti-centrele-de-permanenta-arondate-fiecarui-judet/ , but also through several posts such as "Did you know...".

You can identify them quite easily by searching, on our facebook page  #Pacient  and  #stiaica.

As our rights on health issues and access to health services have become a constant concern, the project team will dedicate 4-5 episodes to these topics which will be published every Wednesday, here.

It is necessary to know our rights in relation to the state and its institutions and when it comes to our health for which we contribute, monthly, 25% of our salary.

In previous episodes, we have dealt with more general issues:

  • The most useful information needed: Insured's Guide;
  • The legislation that secures our rights;
  • Other sources of information.
  • Practical guide: Patients' rights in relation to state institutions
  • What do we do when we struggle with serious, rare diseases? Where do we find out about our rights?
  • How do these programmes help us and where does the money for our treatments come from?
  • How can we benefit from support through these programs?
  • There are three possible ways to get the right to treatment abroad, through the health insurance companies: Form S2 (formerly E 112); through the Ministry of Health; through European Directive 24.

 I. WHAT TERRIBLE SITUATIONS WE HAVE ENCOUNTERED, THROUGH YOUR MESSAGES

This is the last part of the chapter on health and our rights in relation to the health system. There is still a lot to be said and done. We have sent requests for action to the Ministry of Health. Many hospitals are under the authority of municipalities and local councils, and here, too, it is up to local decision-makers. They all want the system to work, to save us, but they, and the health workers, and we, must act. Otherwise, everything goes on and on, but not for the better, only for the worse.

We must know our rights and know what we have to do, with the law in hand, to ensure that they are respected. It is our right and our obligation. We must act quickly. We know, we used the word "must" a lot.

What terrible situations we have encountered when seeking our health?

The outrageous, painful, powerless situations have been brought to our attention by the responses to the questionnaire of the "Be informed, not abused!" project, but also by many of the approx. 2500 comments and messages received during these nine months of activity. In addition, in the public space, we met many cases on this painful topic. Perhaps, when someone dear to us, in our family or us, is not hit, we are not fully aware of the situation, but it has been catastrophic, it has led to tragedies.

  • Worsening frame diseases and deaths on a treadmill, with no guilty parties

During the pandemic, unfortunately, the health of many Romanians, especially those with chronic diseases, suffered a lot. They were diagnosed late, which led to worsening health conditions through failure to intervene in time. In other cases, already diagnosed, they were postponed for interventions that would not have been emergencies, although this automatically led to worsening of the condition. There were also cases where, after initial treatment, they were sent home where their condition also worsened (they did not have the result of PCR tests, one of the reasons).

Although measures have been taken not to put pressure on hospitals, the collateral victims of this are citizens, sick people who do not have to pay the bill, often even through death, because many situations have also had this outcome.

 

  • Relatives do not have the right to be informed about the patient's condition

There have been situations where, after admission of patients, mainly in intensive care, but not only, relatives have been given misleading, indigo information "Patient is better/stable/we will see how he is doing". There were situations where they were not answered, and all of us who have had patients in hospitals know the despair that we feel when we do not know what is happening to our sick person, if he is well cared for, how we can help him, support him, be there for him. Yes, the medical staff may have been exhausted, but those patients are entitled people who have paid for access to quality health care in advance throughout their lives.

There have also been situations where relatives have only found out when they have called, insistently, although they were often rushed to the phone, that theirs had died in the meantime.

  • Dead patients responsible, no, because protocols were followed

People were outraged, they said they were making complaints, some did, but the answers they received showed that, in general, everything was done well, procedures and protocols were followed. Then, many, pressed by grief, gave up fighting for justice, because who would do justice to them, the colleagues of those they believe guilty of unprofessionalism or carelessness?

  • In rural areas, you have to know your rights in order for your doctor to treat you, even though he operates under laws and has obligations.

There are dramatic situations in rural areas where a family doctor, even though his services are paid for, does everything he can not to visit a patient who cannot be treated at home if their condition worsens. They have a general response: call the ambulance! If, after insistence or because you happen to know the laws and the rights of the patient, but also the obligations of the family doctor, you get him to come to the patient, outside the working hours of the practice, you even offer to pay for his transport, he comes, writes the prescription, but does not provide first aid, forgets to measure, for example, the level of oxygen saturation, because he does not have the necessary apparatus, although he knows that the patient is breathing heavily. As a patient, you're out of luck if you don't have a pulse oximeter at home (it costs around 100 RON). The family doctor has reached the patient, written the prescription and that's it: the patient has to find a nurse who can put a gill in, not the practice nurse and not the doctor, although you expect him to be able to do that too, after a specialist training.

  • People go into hospital with one illness and wake up with others, including from nosocomial infections

Yes, there have been painful situations that lower confidence in the healthcare system after such experiences. And, if they account for 20% of all cases, that's a lot and it produces casualties.

When we wanted to find out, for example, why this happens, and we contacted health professionals anonymously, many of them told us that this is the result of superficiality and hiring, not on professional merit in the health system, which leads to paradoxical situations when those who know their job are overburdened to treat patients because the ones who "know their stuff" do not know or are protected.

 

II.2. WE ALWAYS COMPLAIN ABOUT UNFAIR AND/OR ABUSIVE SITUATIONS

No matter how nicely and dignified we package the situation, it is not healthy to pretend not to see it. We have real, white-coated heroes, but we also have the flip side of the coin, people you go to for rescue, but they don't have the ability, the knowledge or the will.

That is why we always encourage you to complain about unfair, abusive situations that violate your rights. They will invariably lead here. If we don't do something, who will do it for us, for our rights and those of our loved ones?

To end on an optimistic note, we would like to tell you that, just a few minutes before publishing this material, for example, at the County Hospital in Craiova, we were made aware of the situation of a professionally treated patient, he and his relatives, including the part of communication related to the condition of the patient in intensive care, admitted during the night, even though the work of the doctor and medical staff was intense. In the same hospital, there were also situations like the above, but, you see, it's okay to also mention when the system is working as normal.

 

 

Information on the overall picture of Romanians' access to health services during the pandemic period.

Last year, there were also studies on access to health services during the pandemic. One of them was carried out by the Ipsos Romania Study (information from the study can be found here: https://www.ipsos.com/ro-ro/retrospectiva-privind-accesarea-serviciilor-medicale-pandemie) which shows that "One out of two Romanians in urban areas avoided monitoring their health during the pandemic, rarely or not at all seeking medical consultations, blood tests or other investigations."

 

SOURCE of information:

 

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