The Patient’s Rights and Responsibilities law will protect the rights of patients, explained Zana Mullah Khaleed, a member of the parliament’s health committee. “All the sections of the law focus on how respect for a patient is preserved and it identifies the rights of patients,” he told Rudaw.
The legislation passed with 70 votes in the 111-seat chamber.
There are frequent complaints about services in the Kurdistan Region’s hospitals. People say patients are not adequately cared for and claim surgeons have made deadly mistakes during procedures.
The law stipulates that the best and newest tests and treatment should be available at hospitals, patients’ images should not be published in the media or on social media, physicians should see patients one at a time and in private, a patient’s consent should be sought before surgery, a patient’s information shall not be released without their consent, and in case of violation of their rights, the patient, their heir, or lawyer can demand compensation.
In today’s @KurdistanParl sitting, we have passed the Rights & Duties of people with poor health. Completed the second reading of another important bill on public employee responsibilities . Tomorrow will sit for an open discussion on prison situations in Kurdistan Region. pic.twitter.com/ht59qXYcWx
— Hemin Hawrami (@heminhawrami) September 15, 2020
The Kurdistan Region’s hospitals are straining under the COVID-19 pandemic. The government was quick to impose restrictions and a lockdown when the first cases were reported in early March. It eventually lifted the measures in order to get the economy going again. An order to wear face masks in public remains in place, but it is not enforced and the number of cases has grown without relent for three and a half months.
Hundreds of people contract the virus and tens die every day. A total of 37,907 cases have been confirmed and 1,391 people have died. Distraught family members have said that hospitals are lacking medical staff and supplies of oxygen.
The health ministry last week said family members of a patient attacked hospital employees. The minister called for them to be arrested and steps taken to protect hospital staff.
The bill passed today also defines responsibilities of patients, including respecting health workers and protecting hospital equipment.
The legislation also limits abortion to cases when it is medically necessary. To obtain an abortion will need the consent of both parents and a committee of at least five physicians.
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