Medics urged to uphold patients’ rights

The Director of Kibagabaga Hospital, Dr. Christian Ntizimira, has urged healthcare providers to respect the rights of patients. He made the call yesterday, while opening a two-day training workshop on patient’s rights targeting heads of hospitals and health centres from Gasabo District. The training was organised by the Health Development Initiative (HDI), a local NGO that promotes health and development by narrowing the gap between the population and health professionals. “You’re supposed to value the patients’ rights by offering them the good customer care they deserve in terms of treatment, information about their ailments among others,” he told them. Ntizimira stressed that there have been complaints from people who say that their rights are not respected by medics whenever they go to the hospitals and health centres. Dr. Aflodis Kagaba, Executive Director HDI Rwanda said that his NGO organised the training with the aim of boosting the knowledge on the rights of patients among healthcare providers especially at hospitals and health centres. “We want to increase the awareness of the patient rights as prescribed for within the National Patients Charter,” he asserted. Kagaba added that a group of healthcare providers who are undergoing training are from the hospitals and health centres in Gasabo District, adding that they plan to extend the program to other district hospitals in the country. “Our target is to do a way with the negligence that leads to the death of patients, which is why these people are undergoing intensive training on patient rights,” he said. He stated that patients have a right to information about their sickness and the right to be respected and criticise the kind of services they receive from health personnel. Dr. Kagaba underscored the need to facilitate hospitals and health centres to establish customer care desks to respond to patients’ complaints. One of the trainees, Seraphine Mukamuhanda, the Director of Nyacyonga Health Centre, said that she hopes to get more information on how patient’s rights can be respected. Ends