Description
The project focuses on the monitoring and quality improvement of draft legislation produced by the Health Ministry and submitted for public consultations and on strengthening the consultation process itself. Our activities will involve tracking bills published by the Ministry, evaluating their quality and submitting comments in the public consultations. The project will help increase the number of organisations capable of evaluating draft healthcare legislation for its quality, transparency and respect for patients' rights. The project partner will add value by helping expand the scale of the project and strengthen the participation of patients' organisations in healthcare policy-making process.
Summary of project results
"In line with the ruling of the Constitutional Tribunal of 2001, the principle of good legislation provides that legal provisions should be formulated in an accurate, precise and clear manner. This principle is particularly important in the context of healthcare provisions and the status of patients who often need to immediately commence with their treatment. Unclear and inaccurately formulated legal regulations may breed uncertainty among their readers and leave excessive latitude of interpretation for bodies that implement them. The project strived to enhance the legislative process in the area of healthcare by aligning it to good legislation requirements, mainly by its ongoing monitoring and engaging more patient organizations in public consultations. An appointed group featured experts in medical law, decent legislation and healthcare system as well as representatives of patients and NGOs that monitor the legislative process in the area of healthcare. Consultations covered 24 draft bills. Representatives of 50 organizations were prepared for participation in public consultations with the Ministry of Health (MoH). They got an insight into fundamental regulations that govern their role and position within the framework of the law-making process in Poland. The ensuing report pinpointed legislative issues both in terms of the way the public consultations are conducted by the MoH as well as procedures for drafting legal acts deployed at the Ministry. It also took stock of roadblocks that frequently hamper participation of patient organizations in public consultations. Recommendations for participants of the legislative process - both the MoH and patient organizations - were put forward. Advocacy was put in place to prompt the MoH to commence with enforcement of formulated recommendations. The project captured the interest of the new Minister of Health, who declared the recommendations would be taken into account while working on the enhancement of the public consultation process. The Partner's representative was taken onboard by the expert group monitoring the legislative process in the area of healthcare. The Coalition also helped to outreach cancer organizations in Poland."
Summary of bilateral results