The Sejm Health Committee adopted the Report on the Observance of Patients' Rights on the Territory of the Republic of Poland in 2019. "We received more than 86,000 signals about violations of patient rights. I am very pleased that public awareness is growing. Everyone should know their rights, so education is one of our priorities," emphasised Bartłomiej Chmielowiec.
A very important power of the Patient Ombudsman is to deal with the practices in breach of patients' collective rights. "We use this power wherever we believe that there is a collective violation of patients' rights. The recommendations of the MPC in such cases are immediately implemented. From 2017 to 2020, we issued 242 such decisions. Only one has been validly overturned by a court." - he pointed out.
Patient Ombudsman may also bring a civil action on behalf of the patient and claim compensation or take part in such proceedings. "In 2019, there were more than 40 cases in which we were involved, and we also took on 21 new cases, with a further 40 last year. We want to actively support patients in this area as well," explained Bartholomew Chmielowiec.
Report 2019:
https://www.gov.pl/web/rpp/sprawozdanie-za-2019-rok
More information:
https://www.gov.pl/web/rpp/rzecznik-praw-pacjenta-podsumowal-ostatnie-dwa-lata-pracy