2024-05-09 09:47:43
On Thursday, the Seimas adopted the amendments to the Law on Patients’ Rights and Compensation for Health Damage. 87 members of the Seimas voted for them, no one was against, 8 MPs abstained.
Chairman of the Seimas Health Affairs Committee, Antanas Matulas, said that he had to provide services to an aggressive patient while working as a doctor. In his opinion, amendments to the law are necessary because they will help protect doctors in such cases.
“If the patient is aggressive, endangering the life and health of the medics, until he is calmed down, it will be possible not to provide medical assistance, except for the necessary assistance,” said A. Matulas.
Amendments to the law provide that a doctor will be able to refuse to provide services or terminate them if the patient’s actions threaten his health or the life of other doctors and patients.
This provision shall not apply if the inappropriate and disrespectful behavior is caused by the patient’s medical condition and when necessary medical assistance is provided. In such a case, it will be possible to refuse to provide the service only if all options to eliminate the threat posed by the patient have been exhausted or there are no such options. Once this threat has been removed or eliminated, the necessary medical care will need to be continued immediately.
The procedure for refusing to provide health care services and their termination will have to be determined by the head of the health care institution.
The Seimas also allowed emergency medical services to use video cameras. The amendments to the law provide that in order to ensure the safety of patients and doctors, video and audio monitoring and recording may be carried out in accordance with the procedure established by the Minister of Health.
In order to protect doctors who are exposed to the risk of violence at work, amendments to the laws were initiated by member of the Health Affairs Committee, conservative Jurgita Sejonienė.
In some emergency departments, she said, physical and psychological violence against health care professionals ranges from 1-2 cases per day to several cases per week or month. The member of the Seimas notes that the problem exists not only because of the inappropriate behavior of patients, but also of their relatives.
The new regulation will come into force from 2025.
2024-05-09 09:47:43