Due to their psycho-physical state and the changes associated with the ageing process, senior citizens are particularly vulnerable to various types of accidents and situations that threaten their life or health. Examples of such incidents include disappearances.
According to the Police Headquarters, 2,036 missing persons over the age of 60 were reported in 2020. As many as 341 people from this group have died. Disappearances of patients - seniors and those with intellectual disabilities - have occurred in recent weeks in, among others. Nowa Sól, in Warsaw, in Łódź, w Gorzów Wielkopolski whether in Gdansk. These are just some of the situations that are known about and can be acted upon.
The ombudsman has the right to initiate proceedings on its own initiativeas soon as it considers, e.g. on the basis of media reports, that patient rights may have been violated. Such a situation occurred after learning of the article about an Alzheimer's patient going missing after leaving hospital.
Missing patients
Upon receipt of information, the Ombudsman for Patients investigates why such incidents occurred, whether the patients were provided with appropriate care, whether their family or carers were informed of their situation, whether appropriate procedures were in place in the healthcare entities. If the Ombudsman finds a violation of patients' rights, he makes recommendations on how the entity should proceed in order to eliminate the violation of patients' rights. On many occasions, the Ombudsman suggests making specific changes in procedures or rules of procedure, and to provide training for staff on the protection of patients' rights.
Appeal by the Patient Ombudsman
The Patient Ombudsman believes that it is important not only to clarify the circumstances of incidents that have already occurred, but also to act preventively. He therefore asked the Minister for Health and the Minister for Family and Social Policy to consider the possibility of equipping senior citizens, people with memory loss, intellectual disabilities or other health ailments with o equipping with electronic locatorswhich would help to establish the whereabouts of the missing person.
Locators would not prevent disappearance per se, but in many cases they could save lives. Disseminating and increasing the availability of locators through reimbursement would bring many benefits. In many cases, they would improve the quality of life of the patient and their family, provide opportunities for greater independence and, if lost, save lives by quickly locating the person. National consultants in the field of psychiatry and geriatrics also support the idea of reimbursing locating devices for people with severe memory loss.
Speech by the Patient Ombudsman
Source: www.gov.pl/web/rpp