Patient's Rights Ombudsman as a Specialized Body for the Protection of Patients' Rights

Abstract

Human rights remain an illusion unless they are secured and protected by adequate mechanisms and bodies to ensure their observance. Nowadays, ombudsmen have been appointed in most European countries to uphold human and civil rights and freedoms. In Poland, this function is performed by the Ombudsman for Civil Rights. In recent decades, however, there has been a noticeable tendency to create specialized advocacy institutions, for example to protect the rights of children and patients. As a result of numerous analyzes and recommendations, recognizing the need for institutionalization of patient's rights and the creation of a body representing the patient and guarding his rights, the Patient Ombudsman was established in 2009. It happened under the Act on Patient Rights and the Patient Ombudsman. The subject of the article is an analysis of the systemic position of the Patient's Rights Ombudsman in terms of the powers granted, as well as independence from other organs and equipping him by the legislator with legal instruments serving the implementation of patients' rights. The purpose of the article is not only to assess the legal status of the institution, but also the actual implementation of the entrusted tasks - on the basis of reports published by the Patient's Rights Ombudsman.