The Patient Ombudsman calls on managers of healthcare providers to realise the right of patients with special needs. "Please pay particular attention to an empathetic approach to patients, which will certainly facilitate the recognition of their needs. At the same time, please update your internal procedures so that they are in line with the changes in the legislation," Bartłomiej Chmielowiec points out.
On 6 September 2021, an amendment to the law on the provision of information to the patient came into force. The Patient Ombudsman emphasises that, according to the new law, information on, among other things, the patient's health condition, treatment and rights is to be communicated to the patient in a way that the patient can understand. Communication aids are to be used for this purpose.
Link to the amendment to the Act
Bartholomew Chmielowiec details that communication of patients with special needs will be facilitated, among other things:
- operation by means of communication support or remote online access to the interpreter service via websites and applications;
- the installation of devices or other technical means to assist the hearing impaired;
- the provision of information on the organisation's website about the scope of its activities. This should be an electronic file that contains machine-readable text. There should also be recorded content in Polish sign language and information in easy-to-read text.
Materials
RzPP appeal patients with special needs RzPP appeal patients with special needs.pdf 0.16MB
Source: gov.pl/web/rpp