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Currently, the Chief Sanitary Inspector recommends that, due to the epidemiological situation in the country, the visits to patients staying in hospitals should be postponed or severely limited. In addition, the visits of sales and medical representatives are completely canceled. What is the situation in the case of a child’s hospital stay?
What was the situation like in the whole country?
In conjunction with coronavirus epidemic in different parts of Poland, different decisions are made as a result of the risk of COVID-19 infection. Various disturbing signals were sent to the Ombudsman. Parents complained, inter alia, that they could not stay in the hospital with the child admitted to the pediatric ward. It turns out, however, that such solutions threatened the relationship between the parent and the child, who, especially in the early stages of life, require special care.
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Due to the lack of top-down guidelines, the operation of hospital units was not uniform. Some institutions have limited the right to stay in hospital with a child to one parent. On the other hand, one of the hospitals (the J. Brudziński Provincial Children’s Hospital in Bydgoszcz) even wanted to introduce a total ban on visiting and staying with the child in the ward, regardless of the child’s age.
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Does the parent have the right to stay with the child in a pediatric hospital?
Each parent has the right to be with the child in time the epidemiological threat of coronavirus on the basis of the Act of November 6, 2008 on patient’s rights and the Patient’s Rights Ombudsman. The Act stipulates that during an epidemiological emergency or taking into account the health safety of other people, visits to hospitals may be limited, but these restrictions may not threaten the ties of patients and their relatives.
It should therefore be emphasized that in the case of a child, the presence of a parent is extremely important. It is not just a matter of feeling safe and providing your child with any other emotional needs. Remember that the presence of a parent may even speed up the recovery process and shorten the treatment time.
What actions has the Ombudsman taken?
The Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) received many signals from parents, which clearly indicated that many parents were not allowed to stay in pediatric wards with their own children. The situation in the country is serious enough to take emergency measures, however, care should be taken to ensure the safety of people requiring special care, i.e. kids.
It is worth adding that all planned treatments were suspended, unless the treatment is a continuation of the treatment already started. Therefore, these are children treated with oncological, haematological and chronic treatment. Emergency life-saving children are admitted as usual.
Due to the fact that the lack of protection in this matter for children means failure to comply with Art. 68 sec. 3 of the Constitution (concerning the obligation to provide, inter alia, children with special health care). The Human Rights Defender asked the Minister of Health for information on what steps he had taken or what steps he planned to take to resolve this issue from the top. The Empowering Children Foundation also became interested in the situation of children in hospitals.
Unfortunately, despite the actions taken by the Ombudsman, the situation is getting worse. According to press releases, it turns out that in extreme situations, relatives do not even have contact with dying children who go away alone.
This situation may lead to the fact that parents of sick children will not come to hospitals for fear of separation from their children. Letters are still being sent to the office of the Commissioner for Human Rights. Parents also draw attention to the fact that the presence of a parent often helps hospital staff in caring for a little patient.
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Have a question about the coronavirus? Send them to the following address: [email protected] You can find a daily updated list of answers HERE: Coronavirus – frequently asked questions and answers.