A Charter of patients’ rights and responsibilities is being worked out and will be made law next year through an Act of Parliament, Health Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva has assured.
A committee headed by the Health Services Deputy Director General Dr. Wimal Jayantha has been appointed to finalize the charter which is aimed at restoring a health service where the well-being of patients is given top priority. Various groups have been asked to submit proposals for the charter. The People’s Movement for the Rights of Patients (PMRP) in association with the Law and Society Trust has already submitted proposals and these are likely to form the core of the new charter.
The PMRP proposals include the following rights of patients –
Access to healthcare for all; information and consent; privacy and confidentiality; be treated with dignity, respect, courtesy and tolerance; Process for complaints and compensation; preventive services; second opinion; treatment based on needs regardless of ability to pay; personal safety; information on cost of services and itemized bill; participate in decision making; accredited interpreter; respect for patients’ time; know the identity and professional status of the caregiver; prompt and timely emergency care in nearest public or private facility regardless of ability to pay; accept that fees charged are reasonable and have the name of the prescribed medicine written on the package or bottle.
According to the proposals the responsibilities of the patients include –
Ensure he/she understands what his/her rights and responsibilities are; keep appointments in time; consider the rights of other patients and hospital personnel; follow hospital rules and regulations; provide complete information about his/her illness; use health system properly, not abuse, nor waste medical resources; take good care of health records; comply with prescribed treatment; ensure that financial obligations are fulfilled as promptly as possible and consult a specialist only when so advised by the family doctor.
The Minister told a meeting of stakeholders he would present the proposed charter first to the Parliamentary Committee on Health and hoped to get it passed by May next year. He also said he would take action to implement the National Medicinal Drugs Policy and a Constitutional Amendment to make health a fundamental right.
The PMRP has called upon other health action and civic rights groups to join the agitation for the implementation of these important structural changes to make the health service more patient friendly. | 
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