asked the Minister for Health if his Department have formulated a policy regarding the rights of patients in hospital.
Ceisteanna—Questions . Oral Answers . - Hospital Patients' Rights .
22.
: My Department have not formulated a policy regarding the rights of patients in hospital.
I explained in my reply to the Deputy's previous question on 13 October, 1977—Official Report, Vol. 300, No. 4, col. 430—that the question of establishing a charter of rights for hospital patients is a complex issue and would require very careful and detailed consideration. The examination by the Council of Europe of the question of the rights of patients to which I referred in that reply has not been completed.
The group which I established in December last to examine the more limited question of patients being better informed about arrangements in hospital has held a number of meetings and has received a number of submissions.