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Description
Protecting the rights of the most vulnerable in society who do not have the opportunity to protect themselves is a task and a challenge from a social, political and legal aspect. It is also interesting that the media often deal with human rights, when it comes to national minorities, protection of children or women or animal rights, but almost never the rights of the population to which we all potentially belong, and which are completely institutionally ignored. Therefore, it is necessary to democratize the health care system as soon as possible and enable those who pay for it to have mechanisms of control over the system that directly manages the lives of patients and their health. How? First by introducing citizens to their rights
The project aims to increase citizens ''awareness of the importance of respecting patients'' rights and to educate about the mechanisms available to citizens in avocating their rights. In addition, sectoral cooperation will be strengthened through partnership with the Association DUGA and cross-sectoral cooperation through cooperation with the Administrative Department for Health and Social Welfare of the VSŽ. In order to achieve this goal, the following activities will be carried out: Focus groups with old people in order to facilitate the detection of problems that these people face every day in achieving their rights, a round table on how to improve the position of patients in HR, radio shows, podcasts, promotional stands and volunteer activities.
After the completion of the project, we expect that the elderly will be empowered, established cooperation with the Commission for the Protection of Patients'' Rights and adopted a joint action plan and recommendations, and key stakeholders in the health sector and other local governments. HR with the presentation of examples of good practice of other EU members.
The planned activities will be carried out in highly deprived areas with a high poverty rate.
Summary of project results
The new Law on Health Care (ZZZ) entered into force on January 1, 2019, with the task of improving primary health care. Three years later, unfortunately we are only witnessing a big step back that our healthcare system has suffered, all to the detriment of citizens.
According to the reports of the ombudsman for the last 4 years that we have been following this topic, most of the complaints received come from the health sector. Citizens file complaints about health insurance, protection of patients'' rights, the health care system itself, and more. Already in 2019, waiting lists were increasing, the availability of primary care and medicines for many, especially in rural areas, was very difficult. The pandemic only deepened this gap. The challenges in 2020 are unprecedented in the context of the right to health. The epidemic has clearly warned of the importance of creating a strong, networked and accessible public healthcare system that will provide timely and quality healthcare services.
Since 2019, the Consumer Education and Information Center has been actively implementing support and counseling programs for the elderly as part of the Active Aging Program of the Humanitarian Association Duga. The original idea and focus was consumer rights, but the work gave birth to a whole range of specific problems. The programs are carried out in Vukovar and the surrounding rural municipalities (Borovo, Trpinja, Negoslavci, Bogdanovci). The pandemic has increased the number of complaints about public health services, with which a large number of citizens were dissatisfied even before this situation. The most common problems that stood out to us were difficult communication with health personnel, long waiting times for health examinations, inability to obtain information and violation of the right to privacy. Currently, the current law on the protection of patients'' rights, which should provide citizens with protection in precisely these situations and which has been in force since 2004, cannot work effectively, and for years it has been appealed that it does not follow the needs or the guidelines of good practice.
We carried out all the planned activities and achieved the planned effects:
1. The advocacy/watchdog role of civil society was strengthened through the Research on the Application of the Law on the Protection of Patients'' Rights in the Republic of Croatia, which includes the following activities: analysis of the work of the Commission for the Protection of Patients'' Rights, review of powers and the actual situation on the ground, by holding 5 focus groups, 1 roundtable table and by sending 2 open letters to the Ministry of Health and the Croatian Parliament.
2. Inter-sectoral and intra-sectoral cooperation and synergy were supported - through partnership with the Duga Humanitarian Association, cooperation with Patient Complaints Committees and local associations in the area of VSŽ (Croatian Association of Pensioners and Invalids of the City
Vukovar, Trpinja Women''s Association and Borovo Pensioners'' Association).
3. International standards of human rights are promoted, i.e. we empowered citizens to exercise their rights through a public campaign (TV and radio shows, podcasts and Facebook campaign)
By implementing the project, the partner organizations strengthened their advocacy role when they the issue of patients'' rights. As it is an area that has been very neglected and "sidelined" for a long time it was the implementation of this project that highlighted the problems and what needs to be urgently solved. In addition to the partner organizations, doctors were also actively involved in the implementation of the project during their careers faced the fact that they, as well as their colleagues, do not know much about rights patients. In addition to Dr. Rušinović-Sunara, who led the research, Dr. Lidija Gajski and Dr. Dubravko Fink, who each promotes all democratic tools in their field of activity when the rights of patients are at stake. In addition to the aforementioned connection of partner organizations, but also connection with the bodies they deal with complaints from patients at the regional level, we achieved the result Supported intersectoral and within sectoral cooperation and synergy. Center for consumer education and information and HU Long Vukovar, two associations with different topics have created a common platform for action when it comes to public advocacy. Connecting with others is definitely planned interested CSOs for this topic so that the empowered can act according to decision makers. When we talk about cross-sectoral cooperation, there is a conclusion that cooperation with individuals It was excellent with the commissions, until we established a dialogue with some. We assume that worked on active individuals within these bodies that determine the dynamics of work. A campaign through radio broadcasts, podcasts, TV shows and posts on social networks Facebook partner organizations achieved the result Promoting international standards human rights. By implementing a public campaign, we contributed to citizens and patients speaking openly about their problems problems when it comes to their rights, they seek solutions to their problems and encourage them themselves advocate for change in their local communities. By achieving the results, we contributed to the realization of the effect: Increased human support rights, rule of law and good governance.