BOSIRE: Know your rights as a patient and fight for them

Nurse attending to a patient. Patients have a right to dignified care. PHOTO| FOTOSEARCH

In 2013, the country was treated to the horrifying story of a mother who was mistreated at the Bungoma County Hospital while seeking maternity services.

The scenario brought to light the findings of research on the mistreatment of women during childbirth published locally in 2013, as well as in the journal BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth last year.

Stories on social media by mothers describing their birthing experiences are heart-wrenching. Though mostly told from a humorous perspective, they do not veil the fact that many a times, healthcare providers, fail patients at the most vulnerable period of their lives.

In busy maternity units, mothers report being shouted at, manhandled, slapped and pinched. They are threatened with abandonment or bad outcomes for their babies in return for cooperation.

Mothers believe that during labour, they are so dramatic that they court the unkind words, action or inaction that they may receive.

However, rude comments are meant to deter them from expressing pain or shame them for having gotten pregnant are unwarranted.

At that moment of vulnerability, the power balance is skewed and the patient is not on equal footing with the healthcare provider.

Men too face violations, such as the patient who recently sued a private health facility in Nairobi for using him as a teaching specimen without his permission, causing him humiliation as his genitals were exposed to female students.

Every patient has a right to dignified and empathetic care. This is expressly stated in the Patients Rights Charter.

PATIENT-CENTRED CARE

As the health sector gradually shifts to patient-centred care, it is paramount that we leave no one behind in the quest for better health services.

To this end, it is incumbent upon patients to know their rights. Only an insignificant minority of patients know of the existence of the Patients Rights Charter, making the document redundant.

Even in death, the patient has a right to be an organ donor or make any other arrangements for their bodies, for example, donating their bodies as cadavers to medical schools for purposes of learning.

Along with these rights, are responsibilities that the patients must also fulfill. These include adopting a healthy lifestyle for themselves and the children in their care. Patients need to have a positive attitude towards health and life and should therefore go the extra mile to protect the environment and take heed not to endanger the lives of others.

In the event of ill health, it is important for the patient to provide relevant and accurate information to the healthcare provider to ensure accurate diagnosis and relevant treatment. Further, the patient should provide truthful information about their past treatments. This is especially crucial to determine current treatment.

A woman from a community that frowns upon Caesarean delivery put her life at risk when she misled us about the number of previous Caesarean sections she had undergone. She insisted that it was only one so she could have the option of attempting a vaginal delivery. However, on subsequent review by a student nurse, she slipped and said that she had undergone three Caesarean sections, which meant that she had to have a Caesarean delivery for the current pregnancy.

She escaped rupturing her uterus by a whisker, threatening both her life and that of her baby.

Patients are entrusted to keep their medical documents safe and to produce them when required; to follow prescription instructions and not abuse their medications; honour their scheduled appointments; be aware of medical facilities in their vicinity where they can seek help; and seek care at the earliest opportunity to prevent undue complications.

If an adult patient is incapacitated and unable to make decisions or give consent, their next of kin should take responsibility.

One is also expected to enquire about the cost of their care and make appropriate arrangements to meet these costs.

Both the healthcare provider and the patient have an obligation to ensure the interaction is pleasant and fruitful. And just as the patient has rights, the healthcare provider is also protected from abuse and harm and has the right to refer the patient to seek help elsewhere or from a different provider unless it is an emergency.

Employers of health workers must also meet their obligations, ensuring well-equipped facilities with adequate supplies, and a clean and pleasant working environment.

Above all, health workers should not be unduly overworked. Nobody enjoys ill health. We must strive to make it less painful at all times!

PATIENT RIGHTS

Right to access healthcare

Right to emergency treatment

Right to see a medical provider of their choice

Right to information

Right to confidentiality

Right to informed consent

Right to refuse treatment

Right to seek a second medical opinion

Right to complain about unsatisfactory care

Right to the highest attainable quality of health products and services

Right to access medical insurance without discrimination on the basis of age, pregnancy, disability or pre-existing illnesses, including mental illness

Right to know the full provisions of the medical insurance scheme so as to fully benefit from it