FCCPC Laments On Infringement Of Patients’ Rights By Healthcare Workers

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has lamented that some people in the healthcare value chain are oblivious to the rights of their patients and urged patients whose rights are trampled upon not to resort to violence to redress such infringement.

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission Executive Vice Chairman Babatunde Irukera disclosed this to reporters in Ilorin, Kwara state capital when he led a team of the commission to the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH), LeaH Health and Anchormed Hospital for the domestication of Patients’ Bill of Rights.

Irukera stated that “there is no way two wrongs can make a right. You cannot break the law to enforce the law. Our commission’s responsibility is to create an illustrated guide; that is what the right is and what is the responsibility of the service provider in that respect and what the responsibility of the patient is.

“Redressing infringement of patients’ rights works in different ways in different places. Using the UITH as an example, they have a vibrant SERVICOM office that is taking ownership of the patients’ bill of rights. Initial complaints about any dissatisfaction should start in the institution because they have created a framework and a channel to receive those complaints and address them. Over a period of time the patient still feels dissatisfied he can complain to the office of FCCPC and the commission will generally get involved to resolve the complaint.”

According to the FCCPC boss “patients’ Bill of Rights gets the entire value chain of the health service industry to sign up to certain standards and expectations from them through the patients. It also informs the patients of what obligations. Obligations like confidentiality of their medical records, access to appropriate quality care, ensuring that if a patient has an emergency the initial and most important stabilising treatment is offered before further transfer where necessary and ensuring that in-patients are treated in a certain manner.

“People will rather be in a place where they feel warm, feel welcome and where they feel cared for than a place where everything seems good but at the end of the day is horror. I have absolutely no doubt that we can move the needle substantially by treating patients in a far superior way than we do right now.”

Commenting on the commission’s achievements, Irukera said that “we still have a lot to do. We are inspired by the possibility more than what we have accomplished. Each time I always talk that the possibilities are still significantly more than the accomplishments are. In healthcare, if the effort exerted in saving three to five lives, I will say it is a good one.”

On his part, Chairman, UITH Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC) Dr Louis O Odega explained that “the bills will to a great extent, improve the patients’ outcome. Now the patients know that they have a right and the practitioners know that patients have rights. That should help us.

“Everybody will work towards achieving a better outcome. The law is now empowering them to lodge their complaints. We are going to hopefully pay more attention to them. And that is why we are very pleased with FCCPC. They have come with a lot of materials to help us train our staff on the rights of patients.”