The Federal Teaching Hospital Katsina and two others namely, Heritage Specialist Hospital and K-dara in Katsina State have formally domesticated the Patients’ Bill of Rights (PBoR).
Speaking at the event in Katsina on Thursday, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Federal Competition & Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), Babatunde Irukera said the bill was launched in 2018 to protect, improve and create patient-centred care which will guarantee fair treatment, and autonomy over medical decisions, among other rights.
Irukera said the exercise is a continuation of what FCPCC is doing countrywide and It includes addressing other stakeholders outside of the hospital such as traditional institutions, government institutions, the media, civil society organisations and consumer protection associations to support the advocacy process.
According to Irukera, the exercise will foster a relationship of trust and empathy between healthcare providers and those they serve as both parties will become more intimately familiar and aware of what the care providers owe to patients in the value chain.
Also speaking at the occasion,
the Chief Medical Director, Federal Teaching Hospital Katsina, Dr. Suleiman Bello, while emphasising that the PBOR will, ensure that patients receive the highest quality of care and are treated with respect and dignity, said already “many of its provisions are already been implemented at the Federal Teaching Hospital Katsina.
Bello also disclosed that “as a rule, no patient is rejected at the Accident and Emergency Unit no matter who he is and regardless of whether he can pay for services rendered or not. Everyone is admitted and allowed to access medical care.
He also noted that “the hospital has an effective SERVICOM Unit that tracks and monitors all health personnel to ensure that healthcare service delivery is patient-centred. The Unit also handles all complaints lodged by patients and ensures swift and fair adjudication. All these are done to ensure that patients receive the best medical care.”
