How to write a complaint against a private clinic: against the administrator, against the doctor, against treatment

Reasons for complaining about a doctor

To file a complaint against the actions of a doctor, a hospital patient, regardless of whether it is a city clinic or a private one, must prove the grounds for such a procedural action.

The following circumstances are considered the main reasons for filing a complaint against employees of medical institutions:

• failure to provide medical care to a patient in a timely manner;
• physician error in determining the diagnosis;
• refusal of a health worker to provide assistance to a patient;
• negligent actions on the part of an employee of a medical institution;
• error in prescribing medications;
• deterioration of the patient’s condition after following the doctor’s recommendations;
• medical error during surgery;
• unreasonable expenses for medications that were not necessary;
• inappropriate behavior of the doctor, rude attitude, carelessness.

When the above circumstances are identified, the patient has the opportunity to exercise his constitutional right to appeal to higher authorities to protect his own interests.

Note! If a patient has recorded a violation of sanitary standards and hygiene, this may also serve as grounds for filing a complaint against a specific doctor.

Patient's rights

Both adults and children have the right to quality medical care, which is provided on time and achieves, if not planned, then quite acceptable results. Medical staff are, first of all, people who can make mistakes, they have their own difficulties.

The problem is that doctors and nurses can take their worries out on patients. And if an adult critically perceives what is happening, enters into the position of a health worker, understands it as a human being, with a child it happens differently.

Children cannot critically assess the situation; they do not have life experience that helps to correctly explain what is happening. Therefore, the rude attitude of adults in white coats can :

• Injure him;
• Cause the appearance of complexes;
• Promote negative attitudes towards doctors and treatment.

If you are interested in the issue related to writing a claim for poor quality services, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with this material.

The child sees a doctor or nurse and expects to encounter the “good Doctor Aibolit.” The rude, harsh behavior of a clinic employee causes cognitive dissonance in him, and this leads to a feeling of incompleteness of life, which can cause:

• Anxiety;
• Severe stress;
• Low self-esteem;
• Increased aggression;
• Unreasonable appearance of guilt or shame.

This is not a complete list of negative consequences that can be expected. Therefore, there are special requirements for the employees of the children's clinic. Even the nurse’s injections should be such that the child does not develop a fear of them that will remain for life.

The consequences of staff incompetence in children's clinics are more serious and cause serious damage to society and the state. That is why close attention is paid to conflicts in children's medical institutions.

Responsibility of a doctor for committing unlawful acts

After identifying violations on the part of doctors, patients do not understand what will happen if they complain about the actions of a doctor in the clinic.

The legislator provides several types of liability for doctors, taking into account the nature of the violations:

• disciplinary;
• civil law;
• administrative;
• criminal

Moreover, each type of liability may provide for both restrictions on the doctor and his activities, as well as specific encumbrances, up to and including termination of work.

For example, if a doctor makes an incorrect diagnosis, the patient can sue for moral and material damage under Art. 1064 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, since such a violation can lead to both mental suffering of a person and serious, unnecessary costs for medications.

Another example is the measure of criminal liability for causing harm to a patient through negligence, which involves several types of sanctions: forced labor, imprisonment for up to four years, as well as deprivation of medical practice for a period of up to three years.

If the ambulance refuses to come

Violating Art. 11 Federal Law No. 323, employees of the “03” service give the patient a reason to file a complaint.

The ambulance cannot refuse a call without compelling reasons. The reasons for calling service “03” are listed in paragraphs 11 and 13 of Order N-388n of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. The ambulance team must go to all citizens of the Russian Federation, regardless of their territorial location. Waiting times for the "03" service to hard-to-reach areas are adjusted based on location. If necessary, evacuation of the patient is organized.

IMPORTANT

Stateless persons and foreigners have equal rights with Russians to receive medical care (Article 19 of Federal Law No. 323).

If by calling “03” the patient is refused the call, the dispatcher can be brought to criminal liability, according to Art. 124 and art. 125 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. In such cases, it is often enough to call “02”, and the police officers will contact the ambulance dispatcher. This call disciplines the employees of station “03”.

Where can you complain about a doctor?

When determining how to complain about the actions of a doctor in a clinic, you need to know exactly to which higher authority such a complaint is being filed.

Note! When filing complaints against the actions of doctors, one should not distinguish between doctors in clinics and hospitals. Regardless of this factor, the appeal is submitted to the appropriate and uniform authority for all.

The management of a medical institution is the first authority where you can complain. Depending on which of the health workers committed the violations, the complaint can be submitted to the head of the department, or directly to the hospital management - the chief physician. The complaint must receive a written response.

Legislation

1. Functional responsibilities of the ambulance (hereinafter referred to as SP):

• 323-FZ;
• Orders of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation No. 33n, 388n.

1. The list of necessary medications that should be available to the SP doctor is an appendix to the Order of the Ministry of Health No. 388n.
2. Art. 11 No. 323-FZ - medical care from ambulance paramedics is free, it cannot be refused.
3. The right of every person to receive medical care:

• Art. 19 323-FZ;
• Art. 41 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation;
• Government Resolution No. 1492.

1. Art. 124, 125 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - they did not provide assistance, they left them in danger.
2. Art. 11 of Order of the Ministry of Health No. 388n - when you can go to an ambulance.
3. Art. 16 326-FZ - about health insurance.

Responsibilities

In what cases is the ambulance team required to arrive:

1. Acute illness - the patient did not see a doctor before the call.
2. Injured due to a car accident or natural disaster; assault at home, in a public place.
3. Suddenly became unwell (cardiac/respiratory arrest, anaphylactic shock, stroke).
4. Childbirth, miscarriage, sudden deterioration in the pregnant woman’s condition.
5. An accident occurred (they were burned, frostbitten, cut, broke a limb, damaged any part of the body).
6. For children under one year of age for any disease.
7. Mentally unhealthy people behave violently and are capable of harming others.

The dispatcher correctly refuses to dispatch a brigade if:

1. The patient's health has deteriorated, but he is being monitored by his local doctor.
2. The cause of the disease is hangover.
3. Teeth hurt.
4. They require dressing at home, inhalation, and injections prescribed by the doctor at the clinic.
5. You need to write out a prescription or sick leave.
6. Record death.
7. Get to the hospital, move from one medical facility to another.

The SP should not be confused with a taxi or an on-call nurse. All scheduled treatment procedures are performed in the clinic.

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There are differences between ambulance (emergency) and emergency care. In the first case, the patient's life is at risk. In the second, there is no danger of dying, but a person still needs qualified medical work. The arrival time of an emergency ambulance is 20 minutes, emergency - within 2 hours.

Important! The absence of an insurance policy is not a reason to refuse a patient examination and assistance.

Grounds for complaint

You can file a complaint in the following cases:

1. Unlawful refusal to visit a patient.
2. If they drive for a long time, it’s worth considering that the crew may be busy on another call and get stuck in traffic.
3. They arrived on time, but assistance was not provided in a timely manner.
4. The disease was incorrectly identified.
5. Negligence of doctors, incompetence, rude behavior, neglect of the patient.
6. Necessary medications are not available.
7. They demand money for the services provided - in our country the joint venture is free, operating 24 hours a day.
8. Transportation of the patient was transferred to the shoulders of relatives.

Important! If doctors prove that the mistake was not their fault, there will be no punishment. For example, they were late for a call because several more requests had been received before it, and there were not enough doctors to travel. Or they couldn’t arrive quickly due to traffic congestion.

How to properly file a complaint against a healthcare worker

According to Art. 7 of the Federal Law “On the procedure for considering appeals from citizens of the Russian Federation”, the complaint is drawn up in free form. There is no sample complaint form for the actions of a doctor.

By virtue of this law, the only thing that is necessary is to comply with the structure of the complaint:

• Header or introduction. Here you must indicate the name and address of the body to which the complaint is filed, as well as information about the applicant: full name, address, contacts.
• Document's name.
• Main part. This must include the circumstances under which the violation was committed, refer to evidence confirming the grounds for the appeal, and the rules of law justifying the applicant’s position. It is imperative to specify which of the doctors committed the offense, at what time and why.
• Conclusion. In this part, you need to indicate the requirement, namely, indicate what the higher authority must do: apply liability measures, compensate for material damage, and so on.

The written appeal ends with the patient’s personal signature and the date of the complaint. It is possible to attract a representative by proxy.

Sample complaint about rudeness of a doctor

Statement of claim to court

You can go to this body in cases where the local doctor seriously harmed a person, ignored sanitary standards (poor sterilization of instruments, etc.), committed negligence with consequences, or hid information important to the patient. But only cases with evidence and provided that the claim is written correctly will be considered in court. The structure must be strictly followed, but the applicant can describe some points in a relatively free format (for example, the circumstances of the conflict).

Information that must be provided:

• address and name of the court where the document is sent;
• information about the applicant and the respondent (name of the hospital where the respondent works, his full name, addresses and contact information);
• cost of the claim;
• on what grounds does the dispute begin with references to legal grounds;
• listing of demands (to receive compensation for moral harm);
• signature and date.

Also, the claim must be accompanied by documents and evidence that the complaint has all the grounds. But before you write to the court, it is advisable to consult a lawyer. He will help you file your claim correctly.

Before writing and sending documents to court, it is worth having evidence of an attempt to resolve the conflict pre-trial. If this attempt was ignored, the court will definitely accept complaints against doctors, since there is evidence that an attempt to resolve the conflict amicably was made, but the other party ignored it.

Filing a complaint with the chief physician

You can complain to the head doctor of the hospital about the actions of employees either orally or in writing. It is necessary to remember about the correctness of handling. You cannot swear, use obscene language, or insult the staff who committed the violation. In this case, the head physician is obliged to accept a person with a complaint and consider the appeal, giving a reasoned answer, regardless of whether the application is refused or not.

Note! If the chief doctor refused to take action and decided that the circumstances presented by the patient did not contain any violations, then you can also complain directly to the hospital management in the same manner.

Also, when contacting the head physician, you need to remember that the nature of the violations on the part of the doctor or hospital management may affect the outcome of the dispute. When it comes to bribes, extortion, threats, you should immediately write a statement to the police or prosecutor’s office.

When can an ambulance refuse to come?

Reasons for justified refusal to call service “03”:

• The patient's condition is satisfactory and he is already registered in the hospital.
• A man is drunk and calls the “03” service in order to relieve a hangover.
• Call to relieve toothache.
• Dressing of wounds, injections, inhalations and other planned procedures prescribed by the attending physician.
• Call to write a prescription for a drug.
• Ascertainment of death.
• If the patient calls an ambulance to be taken to the hospital. In situations that do not require emergency medical intervention, the patient must independently get to the medical facility.

Which authorities should I contact if the head physician did not help?

There are several options for higher authorities to which a complaint against a doctor can be sent if the hospital management was unable to solve the problem.

Complaints about the actions of doctors are accepted in the following authorities:

• Ministry of Health care. Each region has a department of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. This is necessary both for supervising the activities of medical institutions and for considering citizens’ appeals. To submit a letter to the department of the Ministry of Health, a sample of which is also provided upon application, all you need to do is visit the reception desk and register a complaint. After this, an inspection will be carried out at the specified hospital, and if these violations are confirmed, penalties will be applied. In addition, the complaint can be sent by email or registered mail. The response will also be received in writing after thirty days.
• Insurance Company. This option is relevant in cases where harm has been caused to health. It is enough to write an application to the insurance company, which will be able to compensate for material damage, as well as establish the doctor’s competence and prove his guilt, which in the future will help to hold the specialist accountable.
• Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation. The right to contact the prosecutor’s office is enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation, as well as the Federal Law “On the Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation.” This authority is obliged to consider complaints from citizens, including against the actions of doctors, especially when it comes to harm or threat of harm to the health and life of people. The principle of filing a complaint does not differ from appeals to the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation.
• Judicial authorities. Protection of rights by going to court is also a constitutional right of a citizen. In the case of doctors, a statement of claim can help recover material and moral damage, that is, bring the doctor or other employee of the medical institution to civil liability.
• Police authorities. Here it is necessary to remember that the statement by the police officer will be accepted only if the violation on the part of the doctor caused harm to the health and life of the citizen, or there was a threat of such harm. The police will also be able to help if the doctor commits an administrative offense.

Ways to file a complaint against a doctor to the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation

Since appealing to the head physician in some cases does not produce results, the following authority is used to resolve the dispute, which in practice is recognized as the most effective - the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation.

Sample letter to the Ministry of Health

To understand how you can write a complaint to the Department of Health, it is enough to refer to the general rules for filing appeals to government agencies. However, in addition to the rules for filing a complaint, there are ways to submit it:

• Sending the application by registered mail.
• Using email, that is, drawing up a complaint on a PC and transmitting it via the Internet.
• Fill out the form on the official website of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation in the section “Form for citizens’ applications.”
• Personal appeal to the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation by making an appointment. In this way, you can submit both a written and oral complaint.
• Using the ministry's hotline. There are also multi-channel telephones for contact, which are available to citizens on the department’s website.

Note! Regardless of the form and method in which the complaint was filed, a response to it must be sent within thirty days from the date of registration of the complaint.

Contacting an insurance company

If the patient has a compulsory medical insurance policy (compulsory health insurance), then the insurance company that issued this document has the right to monitor the work of medical institutions and receive complaints from citizens.

Insurance companies will be able to help only under certain circumstances, which include:

• refusal to provide assistance to a patient;
• coercion to undergo paid treatment;
• violation of the right to free medical care, refusal to make an appointment for a free appointment;
• inappropriate treatment, poor quality care.

To report these facts, all you have to do is call the insurance company and outline the essence of the problem.

This authority is also obliged to react and take measures, and after that give a written response to the citizen. In addition, the insurance company is obliged to resolve the issue of compensation for losses and report violations to the relevant authorities.

Appeal to the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation

The prosecutor's office is the authority that is responsible for observing the constitutional rights of citizens, and accordingly, is obliged to conduct checks on all cases of citizens filing complaints.

Note! A complaint to the prosecutor's office cannot be submitted anonymously, and the methods of submitting a document are limited to personal transfer of documents and the Internet.

Personal reception at the prosecutor's office requires special days for this. If this option is not suitable, then you can use the Internet. It is possible to send an application by e-mail, or through a special form on the official website of the department.

The verification of the presented circumstances is carried out within thirty days. As a result, the following decision may be made:

• transfer documents to the judicial authority for further proceedings;
• direct a protest against the actions of officials;
• issuing and sending a report to a medical institution about the fact of identified violations and their elimination.

Despite the limited period for consideration of the appeal, due to the workload of the prosecutor's office, a response can only be received after several months.

Complaint to the police

An application to the internal affairs bodies is submitted only if there is harm to the patient’s health, or when the doctor’s actions fall under another article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

The police will be able to help in case of problems with medical facilities in the following circumstances:

• causing damage to the health of a citizen;
• the death of a person as a result of the actions of a doctor;
• establishing the fact of extortion of money, threats and blackmail;
• the patient's reputation was threatened due to insults and humiliation.

Also, if the actions of doctors are qualified as an administrative offense, police officers will also be able to take appropriate measures and issue a decision on the application of the appropriate sanction.

Note! There is no need to contact the police if the patient spent money on medications that were not necessary or was denied free treatment. In these cases, the authorities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs will not accept the application, since other authorities are provided for this.

Statement of claim to court

Appeal to the judicial authorities involves filing a claim and is used in cases where it is necessary to recover material and moral damage from a medical institution.

A statement of claim, just like a complaint, requires compliance with the structure of the document. In this case, the circumstances are presented in free form. You must provide the following information:

• name and address of the court where the claim is filed;
• information about the plaintiff and defendant (name, hospital name, addresses and contacts);
• cost of claim;
• the circumstances on the basis of which the dispute arose;
• reference to laws confirming the right of such appeal;
• a demand, for example, to recover compensation for moral damage;
• date and personal signature of the patient.

In addition, the claim should be accompanied by documents that serve as evidence of the established violations and confirm the fact of contacting a medical institution.

Note! Before filing a claim, you should contact a qualified lawyer, since the statement must include not only a description of the circumstances of the violation of the patient’s rights, but also the legal basis for the complaint.

Here it is also necessary to take into account that for a positive resolution of the dispute, confirmation of the fact of pre-trial settlement of the conflict is necessary. The court is required to provide evidence of filing a complaint with the head physician, the Ministry of Health, and the insurance company. Thus, there must be confirmation that the dispute was not resolved peacefully.

Hotline numbers of the Russian Ministry of Health

Main hotline of the Russian Ministry of Health:

This number is open daily, 24 hours a day. You can call it for free from any phone in Russia.

You can also use a multi-line pay phone:

• +74956272400.

It is multi-channel and, like a general hotline, operates daily and around the clock. But calls are charged according to the rates of your mobile operator.

If the subscriber wants to consult on general issues, he can contact the help desk. Calling the helpline is available not only from Russian numbers, but also from abroad, so it is best for foreigners to use the following numbers:

• +74956284453;
• +74956272944.

The numbers are paid, so the amount for communication will be charged according to the tariffs of the mobile operator.

You can leave a complaint about the work of subordinate institutions, as well as clarify the status of your appeal by calling:

• +74956272993.

It is not easy to reach any of the numbers listed. Many subscribers complain that the connection time exceeds 30 minutes, after which the connection is interrupted and the number must be redialed. The least busy period is night time from 20:00 to 6:00 Moscow time. However, even during this period, employees are in no hurry to answer calls.

How to complain about a doctor at a private clinic

Private medicine, in fact, is no different from city clinics, since the principle of its work is also to provide assistance to sick people. The violations that may be committed by doctors at such medical institutions are no different. A person is prescribed the wrong medicine, makes a mistake in diagnosis, extorts money beyond the stipulated cost of services - all this serves as a reason to complain.

You can file a complaint against the actions of a doctor, regardless of whether it is a private clinic or a public one.

To file a complaint against a doctor at a specific private clinic, you can select one of the considered authorities. It is also additionally possible to contact Rospotrebnadzor, since private medicine involves the provision of paid services to individual entrepreneurs or other individuals. This department is vested with the authority to supervise the activities of entrepreneurs, in particular the medical field. Which, if violations are detected, will entail contacting the authorities for the application of penalties.

Sample complaint against a doctor

As mentioned above, there is no single example of a complaint against a doctor. In each individual case, the citizen independently formulates an appeal. The only requirement is compliance with the structure of the document presented in federal legislation. Samples of writing a complaint can be found in this article if difficulties arise in formulating the situation and justifying the position.

Thus, it is possible to challenge the actions of doctors by contacting several authorities at once. A complaint will help not only to obtain compensation for material losses and moral damage, but to deprive the doctor of practice.

A sample complaint can be downloaded below:
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By mail

You can contact the Moscow Department of Health by mail, sending a letter to the address: 127006, Moscow, Oruzheyny lane, 43. In this way, you can transfer not only a written claim document, but also additional materials that can be used to study the situation described by the patient.

When sending correspondence, it is better to give preference to a registered letter with notification. You can find out whether a complaint has been received and whether it has been registered with the Department of Health by telephone or from Monday to Thursday from 8.00 to 17.00, and on Friday until 15.45 (lunch break from 12.30 to 13.30).

The patient can put in the envelope not only the claim he wrote, but also other documents confirming the accuracy of the information he provided. However, it is not recommended to transmit original materials, as this may lead to their loss if the letter is not delivered to the recipient. In this case, the search for documents can be carried out using a receipt, which is issued at the post office when sending correspondence.