Patient Ombudsman’s Institutions
in Poland
In November 2013 there we will celebrated the fifth anniversary of the Polish
Patients’ Rights and the Patient Ombudsman Act. In the literature it is
noted that the recalled Act is the first Polish code of patients’ rights. It is also
underlined that due to this code patients are able to get familiar quickly with
information on their rights. The fifth anniversary of the adoption of the Act
invites us to reflect on the functioning of the Polish Office of the Patient Ombudsman.
After five years since its establishment there are positive as well as
negative opinions on the part of: politicians, scientists, medical professionals
as well as patients. As it turns out the existence of this office did not result
in elimination of other institutions acting for patients’ rights. In Poland, for
example there are other statutory bodies and non-governmental organizations
whose main task is to take care of people using for example hospital services.
Some of these institutions also use the title: Patient Ombudsman. There should
be made a more thorough analysis of these “medical stage actors”. It is also
worth to consider whether this visible multitude of the Patient Ombudsman
institutions is necessary in Poland