PATIENTS RIGHTS CHARTER

SERVICE DESCRIPTION

The purpose and expected outcome of the patients rights charter and complaints procedure is to deal effectively with complaints and rectify service delivery problems and so improve the quality of care, raise awareness of rights and responsibilities, raise expectations and empowerment of users, change attitudes by strengthening the relationship between providers and users, improve the use of services and develop a mechanism for enforcing and measuring the quality of health services.

STANDARDS
`

  1. Each clinic displays the patients rights charter and patient responsibilities at the entrance in local languages.

  2. The twelve patient’s rights are observed and implemented. Every patient has the right to:

  • a healthy and safe environment

  • access to health care

  • confidentiality and privacy

  • informed consent

  • be referred for a second opinion

  • exercise choice in health care

  • continuity of care

  • participation in decision making that affect his/her health

  • be treated by a named health care provider

  • refuse treatment and

  • knowledge of their health insurance/medical aid scheme policies

  • complain about the health service they receive.

  1. The ten patient’s responsibilities are displayed alongside the patients rights charter. These include:

  • Living a healthy lifestyle

  • Care and protect the environment

  • Respect the rights of other patients and health staff

  • Utilise the health system optimally without abuse

  • Know the health services available locally and what they offer

  • Provide health staff with accurate information for diagnosis, treatment, counselling and rehabilitation purposes

  • Advise health staff on his or her wishes with regard to death

  • Comply with the prescribed treatment and rehabilitation procedures

  • Ask about management costs and arrange for payment

  • Take care of the patient carried health cards and records.

  1. There is provision for the special needs of people such as a woman in labour, a blind person or a person in pain.

  2. Services are provided with courtesy, kindness, empathy, tolerance and dignity.

  3. Information about a patient is confidential and is only disclosed after informed and appropriate consent.

  4. Informed consent for clinical procedures is based on a patient being fully informed of the state of the illness, the diagnostic procedures, the treatment and its side effects, the possible costs and how lifestyle might be affected. If a patient is unable to give informed consent the family is consulted.

  5. When there is a problem the health care user is informed verbally of the health rights charter with emphasis on the right to complain and the complaints procedure is explained and handed over.

  6. The clinic has a formal, clear, structured complaint procedure and illiterate patients and those with disabilities are assisted in laying complaints.

  7. All complaints or suggestions are forwarded to the appropriate authority if they cannot be dealt with in the clinic.

  8. A register of complaints and how they were addressed is maintained.

  9. The name, address, telephone number of the person in charge of the clinic is displayed.

Previous section | Back to contents | Next section