COVID is no offense: how to defend your right to medical care

If there is a complaint regarding medical care, a specific medical professional will file a complaint against the doctor. The website also contains examples and recommendations for filing a complaint against a clinic and a hospital. As a rule, they draw attention to the general procedure for organizing the provision of medical services to the population and the work of personnel. To some extent, such documents also include claims about the inaction of the chief physician of a medical institution. A complaint against a doctor is sent when action is required against the primary doctor - a specific medical professional.

Before filing a complaint against a doctor, it makes sense to verbally contact his supervisor and voice your complaints. Remember that in accordance with Art. 19 of the Law On the Fundamentals of Protecting the Health of Citizens in the Russian Federation, the patient has the right, among other things, to choose a doctor and a medical organization. Failure to take action on an oral statement should result in a complaint against the doctor. This tool will allow you to defend not only your rights, but also, possibly, protect other patients from incompetent medical workers.

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Complaint against a doctor

Reasons for complaining about a doctor

To write a complaint against a doctor for whom the clinic is a workplace, you need serious reasons. A person can complain about any action that the local doctor performed and which caused dissatisfaction in the patient. These actions are:

• did not provide medical care on time or refused to examine the patient or make an appointment;
• the diagnosis was incorrectly indicated and the wrong medications were prescribed;
• health workers demonstrated negligence in fulfilling their official obligations;
• the doctor intentionally caused the patient to spend excessive amounts of money for treatment;
• due to the actions of the doctor, the person’s health condition has deteriorated significantly (the operation was unsuccessful, the wrong medications were used, etc.);
• non-compliance with hygiene rules and unsanitary conditions;
• Doctors or medical staff treat patients rudely.

If any of the above circumstances occurs, the patient can write a complaint against the medical staff using the sample documents below.

How to write a complaint to the head physician of a clinic or hospital

Before filing a complaint, it makes sense to contact the head physician for an appointment. You can find out about the days and times when it is conducted at the information stand of the medical organization, at the reception desk or on the website. Perhaps a written complaint will not be necessary, and the problematic issue will be resolved after the manager listens to you.

If you do not want to try to resolve the conflict verbally or have already been to an appointment, but there is no result and your rights have not been restored/continue to be violated, you should make a written complaint addressed to the chief physician.

It is drawn up in free form, with the obligatory indication of your data - full name, place of residence, contacts:

To the chief physician of the State Budgetary Healthcare Institution “City Clinic No. 7” in Petrovsk (address) Vasilyeva O.P.

From Mitrofanova Zoya Ilinichna, born September 11, 1966, living in Petrovsk, st. Ivovaya, 7 Compulsory Medical Insurance Policy: No. 000000000 Telephone: 8999

COMPLAINT about refusal to provide medical documentation

On June 20, 2021, I applied to the clinic of the State Budgetary Healthcare Institution Polyclinic No. 7, to which I am assigned at my place of residence, with a written request to provide me with a copy of my medical record in connection with traveling to another region for treatment.

To date, I have not been provided with a copy of the card, and I have not received any answers to repeated oral requests to the reception desk and to the local general practitioner. It is unclear why they cannot provide me with a copy of my medical records.

I believe that this violates my right under paragraph 5 of Art. 22 of the Law on the Fundamentals of Protecting the Health of Citizens - to receive complete information about the state of health.

I ask that you give me a copy of the medical record and conduct an investigation against the officials responsible for violating my right to receive medical information.

07/02/2021, Mitrofanova Z.I.

Having written a complaint, you can send it online in electronic form on the website of the medical institution or give it to the reception of the head physician, leaving a copy for yourself with a mark of acceptance.

The complaint must be considered within 30 days and a written response must be given to the applicant, explaining the further procedure for appealing. If the appeal indicates an urgent need (for example, if Mitrofanova Z.I. is preparing for an emergency operation and documents are needed urgently), then the complaint must be considered immediately.

Responsibility of a doctor for committing unlawful acts

Depending on the circumstances, the local doctor can be punished disciplinaryly, according to civil law or administrative standards. Difficult cases are punished criminally. These types of punishment entail either restrictions on activities for some time, or a complete cessation of work in the area in question.

An example of a violation would be a patient being misdiagnosed. The victim can appeal to higher authorities for compensation for moral and material damage caused to him by a doctor working in the clinic. This right is given to the patient by Article 1064 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

Also, the local doctor may be held criminally liable. It occurs even if the clinic committed the action in question through negligence. Often, health workers are sent to community service, deprived of practicing medicine for three years, or imprisoned for 4 years.

What to do if a nurse in a hospital is rude?

The provision of free medical care is often accompanied by unethical behavior of health workers, which affects the moral well-being and physical health of patients.

You can resist the rudeness of nurses and doctors in many ways - from verbal attempts to resolve the conflict to filing complaints with higher authorities.

This article talks about typical ways to resolve the issue, but each case is unique. If you want to find out how to solve your particular problem, call :

• Moscow .
• Saint Petersburg .

Or on the website. It's fast and free!

Where can you complain about a doctor?

Did the clinic hire someone incompetent? It is necessary to find out to whom a complaint against a local doctor will be written if the incompetence of this employee has caused harm to patients. Complaints about the medical staff and doctors of clinics and hospitals are sent to the same institutions. There is no need to complicate the task by searching for authorities that control health workers in different institutions, since they are controlled by one higher government instrument.

You must immediately write and send a complaint against doctors or other health workers to their place of work - this is the clinic itself where the incident occurred. The document is submitted to the medical management.

A patient to whom the clinic doctor did not provide adequate attention and help may complain. But the fact of offense does not prove anything, nor does the presence of a written complaint. You need to figure out where to go so that the complaint brings maximum benefit and forces the offender to be punished. There are options for where to write a complaint against a clinic doctor.

To the name of the manager

In clinics there are often no managers, but there are other higher-ups. The manager can receive complaints received against nurses, doctors, orderlies and other personnel. You can contact him if there is a fact of extortion, negligence, or failure of staff to fulfill their duties. But keep in mind that you need to complain to the boss of the health worker who caused the violation. You can safely skip this step and file a complaint directly with your superiors - the chief doctor of the clinic.

Head doctor of the clinic

This specialist is responsible for managing the entire hospital. His competence includes household management. medical activities institutions, administrative issues and more. But it is also within the competence of the head physician to take action on issues of claims against employees who commit offenses in relation to patients. It is not necessary to contact the head physician; you can immediately file a complaint with the supervisory authority.

If a patient’s complaint against a doctor is received as intended, the clinic is obliged to give the complainant a written response. The administration usually responds to complaints because it has an interest in its good reputation. The hospital management would not want the matter to go to trial, so the offender will receive disciplinary action. Although it happens that the clinic will not side with its employee.

The concept of rudeness of medical workers

Rudeness of health workers means a rude, disrespectful attitude towards patients during the treatment process, as well as ignoring their problems or complaints.

This behavior of nurses or doctors is a violation of paragraph 1 of Art. 6 of Law No. 323, according to which the patient has the right to have nurses observe the moral and ethical standards accepted in society and to be treated with respect.

Rudeness of nurses can manifest itself as:

• inattention to patients' requests;
• reluctance to explain the meaning of medical procedures;
• using a disparaging tone or swear words;
• publicly insulting a patient in the presence of other patients.

How to properly file a complaint against a healthcare worker

In order for a complaint to be accepted, you must adhere to the correct structure of the document:

• Header and introduction. This part of the document indicates the name and address of the organization to which the complaint is being filed. You must provide information about the sender: contacts, address, name.
• Document's name. Just indicate that you are writing a complaint.
• Main part. In this part of the document they write about the circumstances of the commission of a health care offense and the grounds for applying. It is indicated what evidence can confirm this. For example, the rules of law on the basis of which the applicant can justify his position are listed. Be sure to indicate which of the local doctors committed the violation (name and position), as well as indicate when the violation occurred and why.
• Conclusion. Here the requirements that the patient addresses are indicated. He may demand compensation for moral damage caused to him by the clinic or compensation for material expenses.

FAQ

Question No. 1: Where can I complain about a private clinic?

Rospotrebnadzor handles complaints against commercial clinics, because they do not report to health departments.

Question No. 2: What to do if a complaint is submitted to the chief physician, but a written response has not been received?

Based on the results of citizens’ appeals, chief doctors are required to send written decisions to the applicants’ registration addresses. If there is no response, you can complain about the inaction of the chief physician to the health department.

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

If the clinic does not provide support, the victim can turn to other authorities for which healthcare is not their profile:

• Ministry of Health care. The Ministry of Health is the highest authority over all medical institutions. The main task of the ministry is to supervise the work of medical institutions and consider citizens’ appeals. You can contact the reception department and register a complaint there. After this, specialists will be sent to the hospital about which the complaint was received for inspection. If the violation is confirmed, the perpetrators will be punished, and the clinic will be fined. The applicant must be notified of the measures taken within thirty days.
• Prosecutor's office. This body considers complaints against doctors if they caused harm to health or there was such a threat.
• Police. It is necessary to contact the police if a clinic doctor harms a person’s health or takes his life. You can also go to the police if a health worker commits an administrative offense.
• Health insurance funds. A patient can write here if the doctors of the clinic caused harm to the patient’s health. The insurance company must compensate for the damage and determine how competent the doctor is. If the specialist’s guilt is proven, he will be held accountable.
• Court. It will help protect the patient’s rights in his dispute with health workers at an appointment or during treatment. An appeal is possible to recover material damages, as well as moral compensation.

But if you contact the ministry and other authorities, you should take into account that they do not work with all problems, but only with some areas.

How to respond to rudeness and rudeness of medical staff

She was admitted with complaints of poor appetite, dizziness and low blood pressure. attached), ultrasound examinations and a number of other procedures. I saw the doctor only 2 times over a 10-day period, and did not receive any comments about the diagnosis or progress of treatment. In the discharge from the hospital I found out that I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus, despite the fact that according to a blood test, sugar was low - 5.8. On September 21, 2016, I was discharged from the hospital, despite the fact that my health condition remained unsatisfactory.

And on October 5, 2016, I was again admitted to hospital No. 195 with deteriorating health. This time I was also prescribed a blood test for markers, and, unfortunately, a tumor was detected. I am currently undergoing examinations at an oncology clinic.

I believe that the medical activity of A.A. Polishchuk

Contacting an insurance company

Residents of Russia have a compulsory medical insurance policy, which ensures their quality healthcare. Since it is through this organization that the services of local doctors are paid, it controls the quality of their work. Therefore, you can write to the insurance company if:

• the patient was not provided with assistance or the service was provided at a low level;
• demanded money for services that are included in compulsory medical insurance;
• refused to assign the patient to the clinic;
• the clinic refused to make an appointment for a free appointment, or they force you to pay for appointments with a doctor.

When the violation is confirmed, the clinic pays a fine. You can report a violation with a simple phone call, during which you can express your complaints against the clinic. The insurance company is obliged to respond to a violation of its contract with the clinic, otherwise it risks losing clients. After taking measures, the insurance company gives a written response to the applicant, indicating what actions it took. The company is also obliged not only to help resolve the conflict, but also to report it to other competent authorities, especially if the problem goes beyond healthcare.

How to deal with rudeness correctly

When faced with a violation of ethics during treatment, patients should adhere to the following rules:

• do not respond to rudeness by raising your voice or making threats;
• if ignored, calmly but persistently repeat the question or request;
• If possible, find out the nurse’s name and patronymic and contact directly;
• when shouting, rudeness or neglect, you need to calmly and politely demand to speak in a different tone, and then repeat the request.

An attempt to verbally resolve the conflict is carried out, first of all, in response to rudeness. If the conflict cannot be resolved within more than 2 days, you should contact the head of the department.

This can also be done orally, the procedure is as follows:

1. Make an appointment.
2. Present the problem to the manager.
3. Ask to change or influence the nurse caring for the patient.

When describing the situation, it is important to emphasize the desire to avoid conflict and continue treatment with maximum effectiveness.

If a visit to the manager did not bring results or only aggravated the situation, you should call the insurance company on a single customer support number and describe the situation in detail. In most cases, a call to the insurer is enough for the management of a medical institution to take action against an unethical employee.

It is important to take into account that when calling the insurance company, the specialist will ask for the patient’s last name, first name and patronymic, his year of birth, as well as the exact name of the medical institution, after which he will clarify whether the patient contacted the head of the department.

Appeal to the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation

Receiving complaints to these bodies is rational in the case where the doctor has violated the law. But due to the large number of procedures, the consideration of the case may be delayed. Sample complaints can be sent to the police in cases where there is evidence that the doctor has committed a criminal act. For example, he forced or illegally performed an abortion, damaged a person’s health, etc.

The prosecutor's office must monitor the observance of human rights, which were given to him by the Constitution of the country. If someone comes here with a complaint about a violation of the rights in question, this body must do everything to check the circumstances and reasons for the complaint. It is important to complain about healthcare not anonymously. An anonymous complaint will not be considered, even if the complaint makes serious allegations.

Also, whether the case will be considered or not is influenced by the availability of documents confirming the offense, which the clinic did. They must be submitted to the prosecutor's office either in person or using special forms on the Internet. The prosecutor's office has special days for personal writing, so it will not be possible to come at a time convenient for the person. But the opportunity to apply on the Internet is always open.

Application samples can be sent not at the reception, but by e-mail or using a special form open on the official website of the prosecutor's office. After a complaint has been received with the required set of documents, the authorities will conduct an inspection, the duration of which is 30 days. You should not expect a response from the prosecutor’s office to arrive within this time frame. Sometimes you have to wait several months for an appointment, given the workload of the authority in question.

Based on the results of verification actions, the authorities can transfer documents to the court so that this authority can deal with the case in the future. Also, the prosecutor's office can issue an official protest against the measures taken by officials, or send a written document to the clinic, warning that offenses have been detected on its territory.

When to respond to a request

The patient can submit an appeal in the form of a proposal, statement or complaint in written, electronic, or oral form. The oral form is, for example, a phone call or a conversation in the chief physician’s office.

Regardless of the type and form of the appeal, the medical organization is obliged to consider it and provide the applicant with a “reasoned answer on the merits of the questions raised in the appeal.” The medical organization submits a response to the appeal in the manner prescribed by Federal Law No. 59-FZ dated May 2, 2006 “On the procedure for considering appeals from citizens of the Russian Federation” (hereinafter referred to as Law No. 59-FZ).

The obligation of a medical organization to consider requests and give answers to them follows from the right of a citizen to personally contact a state or municipal medical organization. The citizen’s right to appeal is provided for by the Constitution (Article 33) and Law No. 59-FZ (Part 4 of Article 1).

If a medical organization does not respond to the appeal, it faces administrative liability under Article 5.59 of the Administrative Code. The sanction provides for an administrative fine in the amount of 5 thousand to 10 thousand rubles. However, in some cases there is no need to respond to the request. Such cases are listed in Article 11 of Law No. 59-FZ.

Complaint to the police

It would be rational to file a complaint with the police if the local doctor caused real physical harm to the patient or if the doctor violated another article of the criminal code on healthcare . Examples of such violations are damage to health, the death of a patient due to the doctor’s work, extortion, blackmail or threats, actions of a local doctor that damaged the patient’s reputation.

Police officers can take action if a local doctor or other health worker has committed an administrative offense. Then measures will be taken against him that correspond to the offenses in question. But contacting the police will be a waste of time in situations where the local doctor has prescribed unnecessary medications to the patient or refuses to treat for free. This is the area of ​​activity of other authorities, so the police will not accept the statement.

Most common mistakes

Mistake No. 1: For any reason, you can go to court with a claim against the doctor.

No. Reasons will be required. For civil proceedings, they can be the infliction of moral harm by the actions of the therapist, property and material damage. In criminal cases, materials for the court are prepared by the prosecutor's office.

Mistake #2: A complaint can only be submitted in person to the supervisory authority.

No, currently sending appeals is available through “Government Services” or via email. You can also send a registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt and a list of the attached documentation.

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.

What are the dangers of freely responding to an appeal?

In practice, the responses of medical organizations do not have a clear form and content. Each leader composes the answer in his own manner. Why is this happening?

The fact is that Law No. 59-FZ regulates only issues relating to the general content of the answer, and does not provide for requirements for its structure and detailed content. Certain provisions of the Law are specified in the regulations of regional health authorities, as well as in local acts of medical organizations.

Unfortunately, the local documents that we studied do not contain standard forms of responses to requests and a step-by-step algorithm explaining how to compose a response. They are not included in the regulations of regional authorities.

The legal basis for the response is of particular importance. Indicate and reproduce all legal provisions that justify the decision made

Meanwhile, the response to the appeal is an official document that entails legal consequences. If the applicant does not receive a response to the appeal or his demands are not satisfied, he has the right to appeal to higher authorities, which will lead to adverse consequences for the medical organization. One of these consequences is an unscheduled inspection of supervisory authorities - subparagraph “c” of paragraph 2 of part 2 of article 10 of the Federal Law of December 26, 2008 No. 294-FZ. An important clarification: supervisory authorities carry out such inspections only based on requests and statements from citizens about violations of consumer rights.

If you want to avoid inspections and litigation, write your answer competently, politely and convincingly, with reference to specific standards. The applicant should get the impression of the significance of his appeal and the immediate readiness of the hospital administration to solve his problems.

How to complain about a doctor at a private clinic

A private hospital is not much different from a public clinic - the task of both is to prescribe medical care to clients. Therefore, if a local doctor violates his duties, it does not matter where exactly he works. The most common offenses are inaccuracies or blunders in diagnoses, incorrect prescriptions, extortion of money, etc.

To write complaints about local doctors at a paid hospital, you can write to the institutions described, or send documents to Rospotrebnadzor . Roszdravnadzor controls the quality of services provided to the population. After receiving the complaint, the authority in question will review it and send an inspection to the clinic whose doctor caused dissatisfaction. Based on the results of the inspection, the responsible persons will be held accountable. It is convenient that a complaint can be sent here through the State Services website. The document can also be submitted through the Roszdravnadzor website or by coming in person. Below is a complaint against a doctor, a sample of which can be used to write your own complaint against the authorities that control public health.

Drawing up an appeal

There is no clear sample of a complaint against a doctor to the Ministry of Health, since this is not a questionnaire where it is enough to enter a few data for identification. A complaint is a document that must highlight events, so the standard rules of official documentation apply to it.

Attention

The appeal must be written in business language without using obscene language. The events themselves should be presented clearly, without unnecessary details. However, it is necessary to disclose what happened as fully as possible. If the application is written by hand, the handwriting must be legible.

The complaint itself consists of several conditional parts. The head of the document specifies the authority to which the claim is sent. Under the “To” block there is immediately a “From” block indicating the applicant’s personal data. Usually your full name and contact details are sufficient, but it is recommended to include information on your residential address.

After the title “Complaint,” the citizen must reintroduce himself and state the essence of the events. Below there should be a paragraph with “requirements”. For example, a request to fire the doctor for incompetence or take other measures. At the bottom of the page there is a date and signature. There may also be a note about the attached materials with their list and page indication. This will help avoid cases of losing part of the complaint.

Is it possible to win a lawsuit against a doctor or hospital?

What are the chances of getting justice from doctors who harmed a patient? Judicial practice was not in favor of the victims. Evidence of doctors' guilt - medical records, diagnoses, medical histories and other documents - is stored in medical institutions. If desired, they can be easily faked or “lost.” To achieve justice through court, it is important:

• get all possible documents in your hands as quickly as possible;
• collect evidence of doctors’ guilt - an independent examination is almost always required;
• Enlist the help of a medical lawyer.

If you are faced with negligence, inaction of doctors, suffered from poor-quality care, or became a victim of extortion, contact our consumer rights protection society for advice, we will suggest an action plan.

What issues is the Department of Health addressing in 2021?

The main task of any Department of Health is to implement state policy in the field of health care and create the necessary conditions for the provision of medical care. What specific issues is this department dealing with in 2021? Let's look at the example of the Moscow Department.

In accordance with the Decree of the Moscow Government of August 22, 2012 N 425-PP, the Moscow City Health Department exercises the following powers:

Development of draft legal acts on issues related to the established field of activity (programs for the development of healthcare and sanitary-epidemiological well-being of the population, organization of providing citizens with medicines and medical products, establishment of social support measures for the organization of medical care for persons suffering from socially significant or dangerous diseases and etc.);

Quality control and safety of medical activities in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation;

Control over the application of prices for medicines included in the list of vital and essential medicines;

Licensing of medical, pharmaceutical activities, as well as activities related to the circulation of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances and their precursors;

License control.