Ivan Yates
Question:20 Mr. Yates asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will report on the workings of the patients' charter. [28758/00]
Written Answers. - Patients' Charter.
The Deputy will be aware that a charter of rights for hospital patients was introduced in August 1992. The charter provides guidelines for good standards of practice in acute hospitals. Although the charter has no statutory basis in law, its objective is to ensure that the health service becomes more responsive to the needs of the individual patients and that there is a code of practice available which sets out what patients have a right to expect when they make use of hospital services.
The Deputy will be aware that the implementation of the standards specified in the patients' charter is a matter for individual hospital management in the first instance. My Department places a high emphasis on the need for ongoing review of compliance with its terms and is in frequent contact with the service deliverers on issues which arise. The development of other mechanisms for improvements in patient advocacy underpin my objective in providing a patient focused service within which the priority must be equity of access to high quality care based on clinical need. The patients' charter was an important step in developing awareness of patients rights and it is my intention to ensure that service providers continue to build on the good standards of practice which the charter provides.
I am currently working with the health board chief executive officers on a framework for patient advocacy initiatives which is aimed at firmly establishing the primacy of the patient throughout all aspects of the health service including the acute hospital sector.