Submitted by dhtare on Wed, 09/16/2020 - 08:58

BEING A VALUED PATIENT OF UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL SHARJAH, YOU & YOUR FAMILY HAVE THE FOLLOWING RIGHTS: 

(RIGHTS OF CHILDREN, ELDERLY & PATIENTS NOT ABLE TO PRACTICE THEIR RIGHTS, WILL BE GRANTED TO THEIR FAMILIES / GUARDIANS OR TO THEIR LEGAL REPRESENTATIVE IF THE PATIENT IS INCOMPETENT TO MAKE DECISION FOR SELF OR HIS ELIGIBILITY IS RESTRICTED)

  1. You have the right to understand & use all your rights. You will receive a written copy of these rights from the Reception as an outpatient & in Wards as an admitted patient. & if for any reason, you do not understand them, please contact any staff & ask for help, including interpretation if you want to be explained in another language.
  2. You have the right to receive impartial care with dignity, respect, self-worth without discrimination, respecting your values & religious beliefs. This care shall be subject to availability, without interfering with other patient’s safety & the work environment & without contradiction with hospital rules & regulatory mandates.
  3. You have the right to receive comprehensive medical care with the aim of reaching proper diagnosis & treatment of illness & injury.
  4. You have the right to receive immediate emergency care, whenever needed, with no delay
  5. You have the right to know the identity of the physician or other healthcare practitioners responsible for your care & to know the scope of work for each of them.
  6. You have the right to receive comprehensive information in a manner you can understand (from the healthcare team) about the diagnosis, proposed treatment, therapeutic procedures, surgical interventions, any change in your health status & the cause of these changes, alternative treatments, potential benefits & drawbacks to the proposed treatment, expected outcomes of care & treatment, the likelihood of successful treatment, possible problems related to recovery & possible results of non-treatment & expected cost of care. In addition to clarifying & determining the quantities of the drug, its side effects, the way to use it clearly, & knowing the reason for undergoing various tests & treatments, & every procedure that was taken when providing the health service to the patient shall be documented in patient’s medical records.
  7. You have the right to have an interpreter (if available) if the language presents a problem to understand the details of your care & the treatment provided to you.
  8. You have the right to give or not written General Consent for treatment.
  9. You have the right to give or not to give your written informed consent before surgery or any invasive procedures, anesthesia, the use of blood & its products & any other high-risk procedure & treatment.
  10. You have the right to receive all information that you need before giving your consent for any proposed procedure or treatment; & to complete the necessary laboratory tests & investigation before any surgery. The information should include the benefits, available alternatives & the possible risks (if any) of the procedure or the treatment.
  11. You have the right to participate in care decisions. We encourage Patients, Parents or Legal Guardians to participate in planning & implementing treatment together with the nurses & physicians, to the extent they wish.
  12. You have the right to maintain your need for privacy for all clinical interviews/ examinations, procedures (including while being transported), & treatments & the confidentiality of all of your information & data included in the health file, social status, any correspondence & communications, in accordance with the regulatory requirements.
  13. You have the right to choose the treating doctor (depending on availability) in addition to the right to reject the treating doctor upon furnishing a genuine reason.
  14. You have the right to express your opinion clearly in case you refuse the treatment (if you would like to, except the unconscious patient) & to be informed of the medical consequences due to your refusal. Accordingly, you will sign a form prepared to that effect & leave the hospital, considering the special cases stipulated in the hospital & regulatory mandates.
  15. You have the right to refuse examination or observation by any person not directly responsible for your care. In such an event, such persons should have your permission to be present during case discussion, consultation, examination & treatment.
  16. You have the right to be protected from physical, verbal & psychological assault, protect your health, & respect basic human rights.
  17. You have the right to receive information from the organization that supports your choice to donate organs & other tissues. 
  18. You have the right to access your medical information as per our hospital policy & regulations & any cost doesn’t prevent accessing this information to maintain continuity of care.
  19. You have the right to obtain a medical report & a copy of medical test results from the Medical Records Section & patient medical information shall be accessible if requested.
  20. According to Hospital Policies & Procedures & depending on availability & your health status, you have the right to have a family member or a guardian as an escort (if need be). Due to medical reasons, certain units will not allow this. e.g. OT, ICU, NICU & Dialysis etc.
  21. You have the right to receive treatment services, & if this is not possible, you have the right to receive a complete explanation of the need to be transferred to another treatment centre & all reasonable alternatives to such a transfer. Before performing the transfer, the receiving institution must accept the transfer.
  22. You have the right to complain through the Patient Relations Officer without any fear of reprisals about the care & services you are receiving & to have the hospital respond to you. Patients whether inpatients or outpatients can contact the Patient Relations Officer to give complaints & suggestions about services & have them addressed to the concerned department.
  23. You have the right to appropriate assessment & pain management & receive education for yourself & your family about pain & pain management.
  24. University Hospital Sharjah is committed to providing the dying patient with respectful & compassionate care & respects his/her unique needs.
  25. You have the right to receive an itemized & detailed bill of all services provided upon your request as an inpatient, at the time of discharge & explanation of all charges regardless of whether it is paid by you or by another source 
  26. You have the right to receive written Discharge Instructions/Plans. This plan will highlight treatment, follow up & medical instructions on how to take care of yourself after you leave the hospital.
  27. You have the right to seek a second opinion about your care without fear of compromise within or outside the organization. (If need be, you may be required to pay for the services).
  28. You have the right to identify & involve which family member/friends, others, etc & who not to involve in your care decisions about your diagnosis & treatment.
  29. You have the right to obtain the best possible services for your health from the doctors & all health professionals, by using all available means & capabilities.
  30. You have the right to be treated, to be heard & advised by the doctor with dedication & without discrimination.
  31. You have the right to obtain health services that require continuity & follow-up on the implementation of the service as long as the health condition so requires.
  32. The hospital is keen to achieve the desired benefit from the health service provided & is committed to that by considering the risks that arise from prevention or treatment activities, disclosures or diagnostics.
  33. The hospital respects the patient's desire & not to violate his freedom to continue receiving health service or not unless his condition poses a threat to him or others or to public health.
  34. You have the right to know the nature of your illness & the degree of its severity, & to be notified of that unless your psychological state does not allow you to be informed, & in this case, your legal representative must be informed.
  35. You have the right to obtain educational advice appropriate to your age, level of understanding, awareness & care.
  36. You have the right to know the nature of your illness, its degree of severity, information on diseases including infectious diseases, & to be informed of that unless your interest requires otherwise, or if your psychological state does not allow you to be informed, & in this case, you must be informed to your legal representative, & knowledge & awareness must be provided. Health knowledge & awareness must be provided to patients & their families to make decisions regarding treatment plans & to participate in the health care provided to them.
  37. You have the  right to obtain medical information provided by the doctor in a simple & understandable language, including information related to your illness, the course of treatment & the development of your health condition, considering the difficulty of understanding & dialogue when dealing with some segments of patients (children, psychiatric patients, the elderly, etc.) The notification is done: during the clinic or during a special session, during the stay in the health facility, Upon leaving the health facility, to urge him to continue treatment, to take preventive measures, & to avoid complications that could disturb his health.
  38. The patient has the right to be informed of the following: various checks suggested treatments & necessary preventive services, the benefits of the proposed course of treatment & its estimated cost in advance, the urgency of implementing the proposed health services, the expected results of the proposed health service, possible alternatives to the proposed health service, the expected results in the event of refusal to receive health service & reasons for his transfer from one health facility to another. The doctor may be exempt from providing information to the patient in emergency situations, or in the form of the patient’s refusal to receive this information, or when his interest so requires.
  39. The hospital is keen to obtain the patient’s consent, with insight & conviction, to receive health service in advance, considering the exceptions specified by the law.
  40. You have the right to consent for receiving health service or through your legal representative if the patient is incompetent to make a self-decision or his eligibility is restricted.
  41. Health information & data are the property of the patient & are protected within the scope of maintaining a medical secret that cannot be disclosed to others except with the permission of the patient or in cases required by law.
  42. The doctor must provide the patient with information & data related to his health & not adhere to the medical secret except in accordance with the conditions & in the cases stipulated in the regulatory mandates in this regard.

As a Respected Patient at University Hospital Sharjah, Your Family and You Are Encouraged to Fulfill the Following Duties:

  1. Respect & value the hospital rules & regulations while paying a visit or approaching for consultations.
  2. No visitors are allowed inside the ICU except one (1) close relative at a given time when needed.
  3. Show consideration for & deal with other patients & staff with respect.
  4. Respect the privacy of other patients.
  5. Follow the healthcare provider’s instructions.
  6. Provide complete & accurate information about present complaints, past illnesses, hospitalizations, treatments, present medications (if any), known sensitivities to medication & any other matter relating to your health.
  7. Accept responsibility for refusing treatment or not following the treatment plan, even after the risk of not following it has been explained.
  8. Attend your appointment on time. If you want to cancel any appointment, inform the hospital staff from Call Center 24 hours in advance.
  9. Observe safety regulations, including the ‘no smoking policy.
  10. Respect the priority given to emergency cases. Appointments may be rescheduled or postponed at the last minute due to unavoidable circumstances.
  11. Avoid bringing valuables to the hospital since the hospital is not responsible for them. In emergency cases only, you can give these valuables to the nurses in the presence of security staff, after you sign on the related documents.
  12. Ensure that financial obligations of your health care, if any, are fulfilled promptly.
  13. Give the requested samples & take the medical checkups on time, without delay.
  14. Mentally imbalanced patients must always be accompanied by a family member or a guardian to serve as an escort.
  15. Ask questions if what is said by your Caregiver is not understood.
  16. Take medications as ordered.
  17. As a part of infection control measures in the hospital, patients are asked not to bring personal belongings such as blankets, pillows, carpets etc.
  18. Respecting the doctor's independence in assessing & deciding the appropriate treatment for the patient’s health condition.
  19. Accepting the methods of prevention, treatment & the manners decided for that.
  20. Ensure respecting the rules related to public health in the health facility & maintain personal hygiene.
  21. Comply with the requirements of the bylaws of the health facility in which patients receives the service.
  22. Respecting the measures taken by the administration within the health facility & adhering to the system in force.
  23. Respecting the health professions practitioners in the facility & complying with the good behaviours in dealing with them.
  24. Maintaining the property of the health facility, including buildings, equipment, & others.
  25. Respect the requirements of admission, residence & discharge which is applied in the health facility.
  26. Show the required administrative & personal documents (documents that prove identity & any other document that is required by the procedures of the patient pledge in the health facility).
  27. In the event of refusal to receive health service or refusal to stay in the facility & insisting on leaving without medical approval, the patient or his legal representative must sign a document proving his refusal to receive health service or the consequences thereof, & in the event that the patient or his legal representative refuses to sign that document, this shall be recorded in the patient medical record.
  28. Paying the fees of the health facility or reviewing in advance the expenses received by the insurance or health insurance institution.
  29. You are required to abide by duties towards the hospital & its staff, & the hospital may seek the assistance of the competent authority or other authorities to manage the event if the patient/family does not abide by their duties & any rules violation.