During April and May 2010 we are celebrating the 4th European Patients’ Rights Day (exact date – the April 18th).
We started this year with the press conference on March 31 This press conference was organized by the Patients Ombud Office and participants were Liene Sulce – the Chair of the Patients’ Ombud Office, Viesturs Boka – the Chair of the Riga Eastern Hospital (largest Latvian hospital) and Anis Lacis – Medical director of the Children hospital.
Liene Sulce was introducing mass media with the idea of the 4th European Patients’ Rights Day, with the activities developed by Active Citizenship Network, actions planned by Patients’ Ombud and also with the Patients’ Ombud Office’s experience working with patients rights issues during last few years.
Both hospitals’ leaders were sharing their visions about patients rights, relations between patients and health practitioners, about lack of patient information and also mentioned how important is Patients Ombud’s work, how we can cooperate developing patients right and invited society to actively participate in all European Patients’ Rights Day’s activities.
The main activity in this year – Patients Ombud Office is organizing special informational days in 9 largest Latvian health care institutions (hospitals).
During these informational days we are disseminating the European Charter of Patients’ Rights, we have also developed special brochures how patients and doctors can communicate better and we have special posters – one about the European Charter of Patients’ Rights and the other with suggestions for patients and medical practitioners how to cooperate better.
Patients Ombud’s specialists are answering questions from patients and medical staff about patients’ rights, health care organization in Latvia and EU, communication between patients and medical practitioners.
The main target of these informational days is to remind, to inform the society about the patients’ rights, but also to activate people caring about their own health and health related rights.
These activities are successfully and actively still happening and will happen till the end of May 2010.
After these informational days we will chare our experience with society, health care leaders, mass media etc.
During May 4 – 6 Liene Sulce – the Chair of the Patients’ Ombud Office and Sanita Kuklica – the Health Policy advisor will participate in the European Patients’ Rights Day activities organized by Active Citizenship Network.
