We all know how things are with medicine in our country. The image of a boorish nurse and a not very trustworthy doctor is already ingrained in the heads of the inhabitants of the post-Soviet space. But if rudeness is just the tip of the iceberg and something happened that cannot be ignored? Where to complain about the doctors? And officially, and preferably with retaliatory actions? It is the answer to this question that we will consider in more detail in this article.
Right and good
Unprofessionalism is subject to eradication. So if one was noticed, you should immediately ask yourself how to write a complaint about a doctor in order to do it correctly and with benefit.
Many people prefer to leave it as it is. Others simply don’t know where to complain about the doctors. But legislation grants every citizen such a right.
First, consider the cases in which you can file a complaint with a doctor.
Obligations of a medical professional
Work in the field of medicine is closely related to moral and ethical standards. This means that rudeness and rudeness are unacceptable for a doctor. The duties of representatives of this profession include not only treatment, but also the prevention of diseases, as well as the promotion of a healthy lifestyle.
The doctor’s activities are carried out in the interests of his patient, which, among other things, means medical confidentiality, help and responsibility. If any of these points has been violated in any way, the question of where to complain to doctors becomes very relevant.
Common Causes of Complaints
We specify the reasons for writing complaints:
- medical assistance was provided late or was not provided at all;
- the doctor made the wrong diagnosis;
- the medical worker refused to accept the patient;
- improperly prescribed treatment;
- negligence;
- the cost of treatment did not correspond to the present state of affairs;
- negative consequences of surgery;
- boorish attitude.
Legislation
When dealing with any official documents (and complaints are also included if they are drawn up correctly), you should refer to the laws governing their preparation, adoption, etc. How to write a complaint about a doctor correctly if you do not know the legal framework ?
Fundamental human rights regarding health care are indicated in the forty-first article of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. In addition, touching upon one or another moment of a doctor’s official duties failure, a citizen may refer to articles from the Criminal Code in his complaint, which obviously implies criminal prosecution of a medical worker.
Criminal Code
What specific articles of the Criminal Code are we talking about if a complaint is drawn up against the actions of doctors?
It could be:
- 2 and 4 of part one hundred and eighteenth article, which refers to the infliction of harm to health due to negligence (of varying severity);
- 2 part of two hundred and thirty-sixth article, which states about not observed sanitary and epidemiological standards;
- the first two parts of two hundred and ninety-third articles on negligence;
- part 2 of the two hundred and thirty-seventh article, which refers to the concealment from the patient of information about the dangers to his health.
Depending on the content of the complaint, the drafter may refer to one or more of these articles. Moreover, it is possible to use this legislative base both in pre-trial procedure and during the trial itself. Forewarned is forearmed! Does everyone remember the saying? In this case, this means advice to prepare in advance and "arm" with knowledge of their rights and obligations of medical workers.
It’s important not only “what”, but also “where”
Let us return to the question of where to complain about the doctors. There are several suitable authorities, each of which you can (and sometimes just need!) To contact immediately, without wasting time and nerves on empty disputes and discussions.
The structure of the medical, as, in general, and any other state structure is hierarchical. The Russian Ministry of Health, by the way, is the highest step of this ladder. Complaints should be handled in ascending order, starting from the bottom step.
- The first place to complain about hospital doctors is the office of the department head. If the matter takes a more serious turn, go to the head physician. There is usually no need to “jump over your head” immediately.
- Next, we follow the levels: district, oblast, city health departments, directing complaints directly to the head of a particular institution / authority.
- If the problem cannot be resolved locally, the next step is the central health authorities.
Ways to file a complaint
We figured out where to complain about the doctors of the clinic / hospital / any other medical institution. But you also need to know how to file a complaint.
So, this can be done in several ways:
- To ask how to write a complaint to a doctor, and after drawing up the document, personally take it to the appropriate authority, depending on the severity of the problem (as is clear from the previous paragraph, this can be both the head doctor and the Russian Ministry of Health).
- Use the services of a registered letter. When choosing this method, it should be noted that it is important to keep a receipt for dispatch, otherwise the complaint may be “accidentally lost”, and it will be problematic to prove that it was submitted.
- By email.
- To the ministry’s website (if, for example, this is a complaint against the head physician, and not a petty rude trial submitted to the head of the department).
In all four cases, an official document is drawn up, and the same official response is expected. The deadlines for considering a complaint are usually within a month. If the document does not contain a response form, it will be the same as the request was submitted.
If the business takes a serious turn
Of course, I want to believe that the main problem is where to complain to doctors. But in fact, it is not yet a fact that the relevant authority will respond (although it should). In this case, the documents are transferred to a much more serious body that oversees public authorities and their work, namely, the prosecutor's office.
Filing an application to the prosecutor’s office is a citizen ’s legal right, however, such a complaint will already be submitted first of all to instances that do not wish to respond to complaints to the doctor / s.
We make it right
When thinking about where to complain about a pediatric doctor or any other medical professional, you should remember that the document must be prepared in accordance with all requirements. The complaint has its own rules that must be followed.
Which ones are listed in the list below:
- The complaint is drawn up on an A4 sheet. Needless to say, it should be clean and even.
- The upper right corner of the sheet should contain the full name of the organization or institution to which the complaint is sent. This, incidentally, is important requirements for the preparation of any documents of this kind. Together with the name, it is supposed to clarify the address - also complete, with the name of the city, street, house, zip code.
- Immediately after this they indicate who the complaint should be from - full name, surname and patronymic, also address, contact information in the form of a telephone (if it is an email, then also an email, mail).
- In the middle of the sheet is always written the name of the document, in this case - “Complaint”.
- The essence of the statement is described below. The writing style is dry, official, relies on a detailed and accurate statement of all the facts, but without epithets and unnecessary information. It is important to clearly state which rights were violated and by whom (with the surname and name of the doctor and his specialization), in which department (name, cabinet number, etc.) of which institution. This is a complaint to the doctor of the clinic, or hospital, or honey. center. For example - in an adult clinic number 6, a general practitioner, etc.
- You can also attach and / or describe evidence of illegal actions, negligence, etc. to the application.
- Further, the complainant must write what he requires, taking into account all of the above. Requirements must be compared with this law. It will not be superfluous to refer to specific articles, both when describing what happened and when indicating what kind of response actions should be taken by the organization to which the complaint was sent.
- The date and signature at the bottom of the sheet make the document valid.
As already mentioned in this article, it is imperative to make two identical copies of the complaint, and keep one of them. Typically, such documents do not exceed two pages of printed text. This volume is quite enough to describe everything in essence, because emotionally colored complaints should be avoided.
Style and principle require concretization - surnames, facts. The complaint must be filed against a certain person who violated a particular article of the Criminal Code. It is impractical to write a document in which the whole hospital or the healthcare system will be blamed for all the deadly sins.
Example
The following is an example of filing a complaint about an organization with a court. These are precisely the “serious actions” that were mentioned in the article.
City District Court (name)
Claimant: (full name),
(full address - city, street, house)
tel. (number)
Defendant: (full legal name of the institution),
(legal address)
tel. (number)
STATEMENT OF CLAIM
to terminate the contract for the provision of services, as well as payment of forfeit and compensation for moral damage
On June 19, 2015, a ceramic-metal filling was placed on my upper tooth at the (medical institution to which I applied), located at the address (address). The service was paid in full dimension of 13,000 rubles, and a guarantee of up to one year also relied on it.
On November 18, 2016 I was forced to contact the (institution) again, this time with a complaint: obvious darkening, spots were noted on the seal, the shape began to lose. The warranty card did not provide for all this, and its term has not yet expired. I appealed to the defendant with a request to re-provide medical care and eliminate the above disadvantages for free.
(Institution) refused, arguing that I violated the operating conditions of the seal. The color change was explained by drinks such as coffee, tea and wine, and the change in shape was explained by solid foods (such as nuts). The defendant also referred to the institution’s internal document, signed by the head physician: (full name of the documentation with the date of its signing), which lists the above possible reasons because of which the seal could be damaged before the warranty for it ends.
However, under Art. 4 of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights, the contractor is obliged to provide the consumer with a service whose quality is consistent with the contract. If there is a document that imposes certain conditions on the service, the contractor undertakes to notify the consumer about them.
When I concluded an agreement on the provision of services with (name of institution), it indicated my wishes for the closest filling color in relation to other teeth. The requirement is duplicated in my medical record.
Based on paragraph. 3 Article. 724 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the customer of the work (service) has the right to present claims related to the shortcomings of the result of the work (service) if they were identified before the end of the guarantee. Under this law, I have the right to demand either free re-treatment or reimbursement of material resources (in the form of losses or expenses to eliminate deficiencies).
Also, since the defendant violated the deadline for retaliatory actions, I demand payment of a penalty of 3% of the price of the service for each day of delay. Given that in my complaint of November 18, 2016, I gave the defendant a period of five calendar days for repeated medical care, but at the moment it has not been provided, the delay is 85 days. So, the penalty will be 11 800 rubles.
The answer to my complaint was an internal document (the institution and name of the document) that I was not familiarized with when drafting the treatment agreement. This violates paragraph 2 of Art. 12 of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights, in accordance with which the defendant, was obliged to provide me with complete and reliable information about the service. Under the same law, if the performer did not do this, he himself is responsible for the consequences.
Since (the name of the institution) has not yet answered my requirements, I am forced to experience discomfort due to the loss of the seal with its original purpose. Consequently, I also demand compensation for moral damage in the amount of 25,000 rubles.
Based on the foregoing, I ask the court:
1) on termination of the contract of June 19, 2015;
2) to recover from the defendant the reimbursement of the cost of the service, the penalty and compensation in the dimensions specified in this application (13,000 + 11,000 + 25,000 = 49,000 rubles).
February 21, 2016 / (Name of the plaintiff) / (signature of the plaintiff).
The complaint to the department head or even to the head physician is made in a simpler form, but this sample clearly gives an idea of how to correctly present this document. It contains references to the relevant legislation, and refers to specific actions that must be performed if a situation has occurred due to which a complaint is filed with a doctor. Where to write is also understandable. It also has specific facts, information, evidence. Calculations are made and requirements are presented. With this detailed example, writing your own statement is easy.
It is also worth remembering that you can contact any legal representative for help in writing a complaint. There are also companies providing similar services.
Do not be ill!