Patient Ombudsman Marios Charalambides has called for objective and transparent handling of complaints in the health system, urging all stakeholders to work together to tackle poor practices wherever they arise.
Speaking to philenews, Charalambides said the role of the institution is to ensure that every patient who believes they have been wronged, did not receive appropriate care or had their rights violated has access to a process to examine their case.
He stressed that complaints should not be treated as attacks on the system, but as an opportunity for improvement. Every complaint, he said, must be investigated with objectivity and transparency to determine whether responsibilities exist or whether there are procedural gaps.
His intervention comes as the State Health Services Organisation (OKYPY) is investigating a number of recent cases reported over the past fortnight, including the death of a 42-year-old woman after surgery and a complaint concerning the hospitalisation conditions of a 72-year-old patient. Separate reports have also highlighted the death of a 92-year-old patient following hospital treatment.
“The handling of sensitive matters concerning health requires responsibility, composure, an institutional approach and respect for established procedures,” Charalambides said, calling on all healthcare providers and competent authorities “to ensure that the patient and their individualised needs are at the centre of every decision and practice”.
“It is necessary to recognise that patients and their family and support environment often experience conditions of intense emotional strain and psychological burden, which make them particularly vulnerable. Recognising this vulnerability is not merely an observation, but a fundamental prerequisite for the provision of quality, people-centred care, with sensitivity, empathy and proper communication,” he added.
At the same time, he said, “the formulation of any unsubstantiated or generalised allegation against any provider or healthcare professional, as well as the premature drawing of conclusions before the completion or even the start of the relevant investigations, does not contribute to transparency or to meaningful public information”.
“On the contrary,” the Patient Ombudsman said, “such practices may increase confusion, foster a climate of mistrust and unjustifiably undermine the credibility of the health system.”
Charalambides described the relationship of trust between patients and healthcare professionals as essential. “Building and maintaining a relationship of trust between patients and healthcare professionals is of utmost importance and requires constant effort, transparency, honest communication and tangible respect. Only through steady and substantive commitment to these principles can the credibility of the health system be strengthened, ensuring that citizens feel safe, informed and genuinely supported,” he said.
Within the framework of the new institution, he called on patients, doctors and nurses to join forces and participate constructively in the various bodies provided for, in order to safeguard patients’ rights and upgrade the services offered. “We must all, with absolute and mutual respect, stand against practices, decisions, behaviours or any other actions, wherever they come from, which violate fundamental human rights, downgrade the quality of services provided and undermine human dignity,” he said.
He also outlined efforts to establish a structured and robust mechanism for recording, assessing and managing patient complaints. “We are making a tremendous and coordinated effort so that, within the framework of the new institution, a fully structured and strong mechanism for the recording, evaluation and management of patients’ complaints is developed, both through patients’ rights officers in healthcare facilities and through district complaints examination committees,” he said.
Alongside the ongoing process of appointing suitable individuals to staff these positions, he said, their training on patients’ rights and on the proper and effective operation of the mechanism is of critical importance.
Beyond complaint management, the aim is for the mechanism, in combination with other feedback methods, to become a substantive tool for identifying systemic and structural gaps and dysfunctions and for promoting ways to address them.
Charalambides said the formation of the institution’s own internal team is a matter of utmost importance. He added that he has already begun visits and meetings at healthcare facilities, starting with hospitals across Cyprus, to discuss on site issues relating to the new institution, with emphasis on the complex mechanism, the problems that arise and the protection of patients’ rights.
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