Patient Rights Charter

Patient rights are a collection of rights contained, among others, in the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, the Act on Healthcare Services Financed from Public Funds, the Act on Patient Rights and the Patient Rights Ombudsman, and the Act on Medical Activity. Respecting patient rights is a statutory obligation of all parties involved in providing healthcare services — from public authorities, through medical professionals, to all others who come into contact with patients in the course of their work.

 

Right to Healthcare Services

  • Patients have the right to healthcare services provided with due diligence, meeting the requirements of current medical knowledge.
  • Patients have the right to use a reliable, medically-based waiting list where access to healthcare services is limited.
  • Patients have the right to request a second opinion.
  • In cases of doubt, patients have the right to request that a physician consult another physician or convene a medical council, and that a nurse (midwife) consult another nurse (midwife). Both the request and any refusal must be recorded in the medical documentation.
  • Patients have the right to immediate healthcare services in the event of a threat to their health or life.

 

Right of Choice

Every patient using healthcare services financed from public funds has the right to choose:

  • within primary healthcare — a physician, nurse, and midwife;
  • within specialist outpatient care — a specialist physician from among all physicians seeing patients at specialist clinics contracted with the NFZ. The choice of medical facility operating under an NFZ contract is unrestricted;
  • within dental treatment — a dentist from among all dentists seeing patients at clinics contracted with the NFZ;
  • within hospital treatment — any hospital contracted with the NFZ, anywhere in Poland.

 

Right to Information

  • Patients have the right to information about their rights; accordingly, every healthcare facility is required to display relevant information on patient rights.
  • Patients have the right to information about the types and scope of services provided by a given healthcare provider and about the persons delivering those services.
  • Patients have the right to information presented in a clear and accessible manner. They may request clarification for as long as necessary until the information is fully understood.
  • Patients have the right to information about their state of health, diagnosis, available diagnostic and therapeutic methods, foreseeable consequences of their application or omission, treatment outcomes, and prognosis. They also have the right to decide who may receive such information and to what extent.
  • Patients have the right to waive receipt of information. However, they must specify precisely which information they are waiving, for example information about their health condition.
  • Patients under the age of 16 have the right to receive information from a physician in a form and to an extent necessary for the proper provision of the service.
  • In the event of a patient losing consciousness, any prior arrangements made with the patient shall apply.

 

Right to Give Consent

  • Patients, including minors who have reached the age of 16, have the right to give informed consent to the provision of a healthcare service.
  • If a patient has not reached the age of 18, is fully incapacitated, or is incapable of giving conscious consent, the right to consent belongs to the legal guardian, or in the absence of such a guardian, to the actual caregiver.
  • Patients have the right to refuse or to request the discontinuation of a healthcare service. A patient who has reached the age of 16, is incapacitated, or is mentally ill or intellectually disabled but possesses sufficient discernment, has the right to object to the provision of a healthcare service, even if the legal guardian or actual caregiver has consented. In such cases, authorisation from a guardianship court is required.
  • In the case of a surgical procedure or the application of a treatment or diagnostic method carrying elevated risk, consent must be given in writing.
  • Consent or refusal must be preceded by the provision of comprehensive information to the patient regarding the planned or ongoing healthcare service.

 

Right to Confidentiality of Patient Information

  • Patients have the right to confidentiality — all information relating to them must be kept secret, in particular information about their state of health, diagnosis, prognosis, examinations, and their results.
  • Without the consent of the patient (or of the person holding legal guardianship over the patient), no information about the patient’s state of health may be disclosed to any third party. Patients have the right to designate to whom confidential information may be released. This right applies also after the patient’s death.

 

Right to Respect for Privacy and Dignity

  • Patients have the right to respect for their privacy and dignity — the person providing services is obliged to act in a manner that upholds this right.
  • Patients have the right to die with dignity.
  • Patients have the right to have a close person present during the provision of healthcare services.
  • On grounds of the patient’s health and safety, or in the event of a probable epidemic threat, the person providing healthcare services may refuse the presence of a person close to the patient. Any such refusal must be recorded in the medical documentation.
  • The presence of third parties during the provision of a service — for example medical students — requires the patient’s consent. If the patient is a minor, fully incapacitated, or incapable of giving conscious consent, the consent of both the patient’s guardian and the treating physician is required.

 

Right to Medical Documentation

  • Patients have the right to access medical documentation concerning their state of health and the healthcare services provided to them.

 

Right to Secure Storage of Valuables

  • Patients staying at a medical facility designated for persons requiring round-the-clock or full-day healthcare services (e.g. a hospital) have the right to have their valuables stored in a safe deposit. The cost of storage is borne by the entity conducting medical activity, unless separate provisions state otherwise.

 

Right to Lodge an Objection to a Physician’s Opinion or Certificate

  • Patients or their legal guardians may lodge an objection to a physician’s opinion or certificate if it affects the patient’s rights or obligations.
  • The objection must be submitted to the Medical Commission operating under the Patient Rights Ombudsman, through the Patient Rights Ombudsman, within 30 days of the date on which the opinion or certificate was issued by the examining physician.

 

Right to Respect for Private and Family Life

  • Patients staying at a medical facility designated for persons requiring round-the-clock or full-day healthcare services (e.g. a hospital) have the right to personal, telephone, or written contact with other persons, and equally have the right to refuse such contact.
  • Patients have the right to additional nursing care that does not constitute the provision of healthcare services (e.g. care provided to a patient during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postnatal period).
  • Where the healthcare provider incurs costs in fulfilling the above rights, those costs may be charged to the patient.
  • The amount of the charge covering such costs is determined by the head of the facility, and information on the amount and the method of its determination must be made available at the place where services are provided.

 

Right to Pastoral Care

  • Patients have the right to pastoral care.
  • In the event of a deterioration in the patient’s health or a threat to the patient’s life, the facility in which the patient is staying is obliged to enable the patient to contact a minister of their faith.
  • Respecting and upholding patient rights is one of the fundamental obligations of a healthcare provider.
  • The head of the facility, or a physician authorised by the head, may restrict the exercise of patient rights in the event of an epidemic threat or on grounds of patient health and safety, and in the case of certain rights, also on grounds of organisational capacity.

 

Patient Complaints

The handling and processing of complaints and requests at the 107th Military Hospital with Outpatient Clinic, Independent Public Healthcare Facility, is conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Administrative Procedure.

Complaints and requests may be submitted verbally or in writing, by e-mail, or in person. The following persons accept complaints and requests:

  • The Commander of the 107th Military Hospital with Outpatient Clinic in Wałcz — once a month, on the first Thursday of the month, between 14:00 and 15:00, following prior notification to the Commander’s Secretariat, room 103, tel. 261 47 28 09.
  • The Deputy Commander for Medical Affairs — on behalf of the Commander, twice a month, on the second and fourth Wednesday, between 11:00 and 12:30, following prior notification to the Commander’s Secretariat, room 103, tel. 261 47 28 09.
  • The Commander’s Patient Rights Representative — on all working days between 08:00 and 13:00, room 120, tel. 669 007 920.
  • Written complaints and requests are accepted at the Secretariat of the 107th Military Hospital with Outpatient Clinic on all working days between 08:00 and 14:00.

The subject of a complaint or request may in particular be the neglect or improper performance of duties by employees of the 107th Military Hospital with Outpatient Clinic.

A written complaint must include at minimum:

  • the patient’s full name and precise residential address or correspondence address;
  • the date of the incident;
  • the name of the person against whom the allegations are directed;
  • the grounds for the allegations set out in the complaint.

Cases requiring an explanatory investigation must be resolved without undue delay, no later than one month after the complaint is lodged, or no later than two months in particularly complex cases.

Notification of the outcome of a complaint must include in particular:

  • an indication of how the complaint was resolved;
  • the full name and job title of the person authorised to handle the complaint;
  • a statement of reasons, including the relevant factual circumstances and, where necessary, the legal basis.

Patients whose right to healthcare protection is not being fulfilled to their satisfaction may also submit a complaint to:

Office of the Patient Rights Ombudsman ul. Młynarska 46, 01-171 Warszawa E-mail: kancelaria@rpp.gov.pl Tel.: 22 532 82 50 / 22 506 50 64 Free helpline: 800 190 590 or 22 833 08 85

Regional Medical Chamber ul. Puławska 18, 02-512 Warszawa E-mail: biuro@oilwaw.org.pl

Professional Liability Ombudsman E-mail: oroz@oilwaw.org.pl Tel.: 22 542 83 22 / 22 542 83 24 / 22 542 83 27

National Health Fund — Head Office ul. Racławicka 26/30, 00-528 Warszawa E-mail: kancelariaelektroniczna@nfz.gov.pl www.nfz.gov.pl

West Pomeranian Regional Branch of the NFZ ul. Arkońska 45, 71-470 Szczecin www.nfz-szczecin.pl E-mail: kancelaria@nfz-szczecin.pl / skargi@nfz-szczecin.pl Tel.: 91 425 11 88

Correspondence concerning matters resolved by a final court judgment or a final administrative decision will not be considered as complaints.

 

Withdrawal from Treatment

In particularly justified cases, a physician may decline to undertake or may withdraw from treating a patient. However, any delay in providing assistance must not result in a risk to the patient’s life, serious bodily harm, or serious impairment of the patient’s health.

Should a physician make such a decision, they are obliged to:

  • notify the patient (or their legal guardian or actual caregiver) in advance with adequate notice;
  • indicate to the patient a physician or facility where the patient has a realistic opportunity to obtain the service;
  • provide justification and record this decision in the medical documentation.