Medics call for protection in health Bill

Health workers treat patients at a typhoid screening centre in Kampala last week. PHOTO BY Abubaker Lubowa

What you need to know:

Tough action. The Bill seeks to penalise health workers who neglect patients

Parliament.

Doctors and nurses will be issued with strict “commandments of care” in a radical overhaul of standards, to ensure they treat patients with dignity.

Under the proposed law: The Patient’s Rights and Responsibilities Bill, 2015, patients will be told to raise a complaint if their rights are ignored by doctors, nurses and hospital managers.

In the bill, MPs propose that doctors who ‘carelessly’ prescribe wrong medication to patients who later die or harmed in any way as well as hospital managers who violate patients’ rights be dragged through administrative and legal proceedings.

Although the voice-vote on a key motion to authorise MPs to draft the bill was unanimous, doctors who spoke to Daily Monitor at the weekend scorned the proposed law as “unnecessary” and accused the lawmakers of “witch-hunting” doctors and trying to treat “symptoms of a much bigger problem” in the health sector.

“This bill is going to make matters worse,” Dr Medard Bitekyerezo, the MP for Mbarara Municipality said.

“The bill is going to scare away doctors because of the litigation involved. We already have shortage of doctors in the country and we wouldn’t wish to complicate the dire situation in the health facilities. I don’t want anybody to harass doctors and if this Bill becomes law, I don’t think Ugandans in need of care, will see the doctors,” he added.

However, the architects of the bill say, if it’s passed, it will give hospital managers and doctors clear guidelines about what good care looks like “so they know that patients know what to expect.”

MPs led by Milton Muwuma (Kigulu South, NRM) were on Thursday authorised to draft a new Bill with some politicians saying the Bill is an indictment on health care providers wondering why people in a caring environment have to be reminded of how to care for people.

“The Bill is not intended to hunt health workers but rather make patients take charge of their health and health workers to respect patients’ rights to treatment, privacy, referral, informed consent and information,” Mr Muwuma said.

To poke holes in the Bill, Dr Bitekyerezo said: “The Bill emphasises patients’ rights, how about doctors’ rights? We need to harmonise all the issues in the Bill. We can’t talk about patients’ rights when doctors and nurses are suffering.”

The Bill seeks to ensure that patients receive considerate and respectful care in a clean and safe environment free of unnecessary restraints as well as ensuring that patients receive all the information that they need to give informed consent for any proposed procedure.
The information, according to draft shall include possible risks and benefits of the procedure or treatment.

Addressing a joint press briefing with Voices of Health Rights, a coalition of civil society organisations last Friday, Dr Muwuma promised to come up with the “best law” to address gaps in the current law, define the responsibilities of patients while seeking health care and clarified that “the Bill does not tie the hands of medical practitioners”.

“There is need for a law to be enacted to prohibit discrimination in health care delivery, safeguarding the right of patients to confidentiality; and requiring informed consent to be obtained from patients undergoing treatment,” he said.

The MPs said the existing nine legislations on health matters focus on service delivery and protection of health practitioners yet there is also a need to protect the patients’ rights.

He said the Bill seeks to give full effect to Article 8A of the Constitution which provides for National Interest enshrined in the National Objectives. This particular constitutional provision enjoins Parliament to make relevant laws for purposes of giving full effect to that Article 8A;

In the draft, patients will be “legally cushioned” to refuse treatment until they are told what effect it may have on their health and receive complete information about their diagnosis, treatment and prognosis.

Protections in the proposed law create an important foundation of patients’ rights in the private and public health facilities.

Since the acting Leader of Government Business, Gen Moses Ali did not object to the Bill, Speaker Rebecca Kadaga gave ministry of Finance 30 days within which to issue the mandatory Certificate of Financial Implication, a key document confirming government’s commitment to provide funds for its implementation.

NGOs ask MPs to pass health rights bill

More than 29 non-governmental health organisations under their umbrella, Voices for Health Rights, have urged MPs and government to pass the Patients’ Rights and Responsibilities Bill, 2015 claiming it would help to improve the health standards in the country. Besides, NGOs also want government to consider the health sector as the first priority by allocating enough funds to health.

Speaking at an outreach event organised to commemorate the International Women’s Day in Biina Zone in Kawempe Division at the weekend, Mr Derrick Kiiza, the executive director of Civil Society Coalition Voices for Health Rights, expressed dismay over the number of women who die in maternal wards per day.

“It is shocking to see 16 women still dying in labour wards. We ask government to prioritise women’s health through ensuring that the health systems deliver equitable and quality health care services,” Mr Kiiza said.

The event was organised by Reproductive Health Uganda, Nakasero Blood Bank, Sickle Cell Association of Uganda, and Community Empowerment for Development, among other organisations.

Locals were sensitised and given free health services such as HIV testing and counselling, immunisation, family planning, cancer screening and deworming.

The Kawempe South MP, Richard Ssebuliba Mutumba, who was the guest speaker promised to liaise with his counterparts to pass the Bill saying it is very important and it can help to improve the health sector in the country. “It is useless for government to allocate Shs1.7 trillion to construct roads yet mothers are dying in maternity wards. It is shaming government to allocate Shs1,700 as health grant for each person annually.”