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Your Rights and Safety
Patients in Ireland have a number of rights which are protected by a variety of laws. In addition, the Patients Charter was adopted in Ireland in 1994, and accords all patients specific rights.
At Mater Private Network we adhere to the Patients’ Charter and seek to ensure that our patients’ rights are protected at all times.
Your medical record at a hospital will contain a history of any treatment you have had there: it may contain results of laboratory tests, x-ray results and any correspondence relating to your medical care.
You have a right to request access to your medical records under the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)
For further details on how to request your medical records, click here.
Information regarding your illness is confidential. Without your permission it will not be given to anyone, except those involved in your treatment and your own General Practitioner.
There are some circumstances in which a patient’s medical records may be disclosed without their consent – for instance, if a court requires them, or if it is considered to be in the patient’s best interests.
If you are going to have surgery, or some other type of procedure, you will be asked to sign a consent form. You are entitled to receive sufficient information about the proposed surgery/procedure, the possible alternatives and the substantial risks, in order that you can make an informed balanced decision.
Read the consent form carefully before you sign it, and ask questions if there is something you do not understand. Parents or guardians must sign consent forms for children under the age of 16 years.
Treatment can only be given without informed consent in cases where the patient lacks the capacity to give or withhold consent, and where a qualified doctor determines that treatment is urgently necessary in order to prevent harm.
The Patient’s Charter was introduced in Ireland in 1994. It outlines the rights of the hospital patient and is used in conjunction with the hospitals policies and procedures aimed at keeping patients and staff safe.
As well as the issues detailed above, key points covered by the charter include:
- Right to be admitted immediately to hospital in a medical emergency (and otherwise be placed on a waiting list)
- Right to be treated in a courteous manner at all times, by all members of hospital staff
- Right to receive visits from relatives and friends – including children
- Right to be treated with respect for your religious and philosophical beliefs
- Right to your privacy being respected
- Right to be informed of the consultant under whose care you are being placed; of the nature of your illness in a language you can fully understand; of the results of any tests/x-rays etc; of your proposed treatment, including expected benefits and possible side-effects; and of alternative forms of treatment.
Right to complain about any aspect of the hospital service, to have the complaint investigated and be informed of the outcome as soon as possible.
Read more about the Patient's Charter