Clinics that provide primary care services under contract with the National Health Fund are obliged to organise their work in such a way as to provide patients with a real possibility of contact by telephone, the Patient Ombudsman reminds.
The Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw has issued another ruling which confirms the position of the Patient Ombudsman in this case (case numbers V SA/Wa 4782/21 and V SA/Wa 3197/21). The court thus agreed with the Ombudsman that the negligence of the organisation of the process of providing services, which consequently makes it impossible to register by telephone with a doctor, is a violation of patients' collective rights.
The Patients' Ombudsman receives many signals from patients who report problems in contacting the registration desk of outpatient clinics. In particular, they complain about not being able to reach the facility. This problem has been exacerbated in recent weeks, when there has been an upsurge in flu cases, resulting in the need for urgent medical consultations.
"Simply providing patients with telephone numbers for the clinic is not enough. Registration staff are required to answer calls on an ongoing basis, according to the facility's time schedule. Clinic management should monitor the load on the phone lines and respond to problems as they arise. It is possible to delegate employees from other positions to answer the phones, hire new staff, set up an additional telephone number for patients or introduce a queuing system," believes Bartłomiej Chmielowiec.
The medical facility is obliged to ensure that the patient can be contacted by telephone without undue delay. This means that a telephone call should be answered immediately or after a short waiting time. The clinic should therefore organise its work in such a way that the telephone registration process is efficient and patients are not restricted in this respect. Failure to do so violates the patient's right to health care services provided with due diligence.
Source: www.gov.pl/web/rpp