Your Rights As A Patient.

Have you ever come across a situation where patients have their rights being violated in so many ways but they themselves doesn't even know, that they actually have rights at all? Well, since I'm a healthcare worker, I've witnessed so many of these instances and so yes!, they happen all the time. Most of us here in this country have no idea we have rights when situation makes us "patients" or let me say, when we visit the hospital. Due to this, many people tends to hate visiting the healthcare facility when they have problems with their health. Those that are able to visit the hospital too, tends to keep more of their problems to themselves. Developing the fear of voicing out becomes the major effect of this ignorance.

One will ask, "What is a right at all?" Right can be perfectly explained as the privileges or entitlements that an individual gets to enjoy. There! That's what right means. In the healthcare setting, patients have been assigned with certain rights that they also gets to enjoy. Everyone qualifies for these rights in the hospital once they assume the role of a patient. So you see, everyone is entitled to it as long as you're classified as a patient.

Ghana's Patient Charter, rules out the following as rights for patients. These rights include;
1. Being entitled to a quality basic healthcare no matter your geographical area.
2. Being entitled to knowing the identity of those providing care for you.
3. Being entitled to confidentiality on all information obtain about you and can only be disclosed to a third party based on the patient's permission.
4. Every patient is entitled to privacy during treatment.
5. Patients are at liberty to know the hospital charges, modes of payment and explanation of every expenditure during hospitalization.
6. Patients have the right to refuse to partake in any research study or activity done on the ward.
7. And after refusing to participate, patients have the right to be given all necessary treatment and not to be denied of any of them.
8. Exemption facilities if any, must be made known to you as a patient.
9. Procedure for complaints, disputes and conflict resolution must be well explained to you as a patient.
10. Every patient has the right to second medical opinions if he/she desires so.
11. Patients have the right to know all alternative treatments available in order to make their suitable choices.
12. The patient is always entitled to all relevant information regarding policies and regulations concerning the health facilities that he/she finds him/herself in.
13. Lastly, every patient has the right to know the full information about his/her treatments and management of his condition as well as the availability of possible risk involve in certain procedures unless he/she is not sound minded to make decisions or his/her condition demands urgent treatment.

All the above listed are the right that "you" are supposed to enjoy when you visit the hospital. Every individual must have these in mind so that whenever any healthcare provider go contrary to that, that healthcare provider can brought back on track.
Tell a friend to tell another friend. Together, we can broadcast this knowledge so that no one becomes a victim. It's awful when one's right are being violated but....we can help eliminate that ignorance by knowing our rights.
Thank you 😊💗

~ written by Osinda ❤️