As the number of coronavirus infections increases, so does the number of hospitalizations of people confirmed with COVID-19. Many people wonder if in such a situation they can refuse to go to the hospital or leave it on their own request? This question is answered by the Patient Rights Ombudsman.
As Bartłomiej Chmielowiec, the Ombudsman for Patients explains, all persons staying on the territory of Poland are subject to the Act of 5 December 2008 on preventing and combating infections and infectious diseases in humans. It is also connected withobligatory hospitalization , so if a GP or a contagious doctor decides that there are grounds for hospital treatment, such a person must undergo it.
And the basis may be, for example, infection with the SARS CoV-2 coronavirus, falling ill with the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) virus or a suspicion of infection or illness, if the person has not been referred by a doctor for treatment or laboratory diagnostics for SARS-CoV-2 virus as part of mandatory isolation or isolation at home.
The second question is equally important: can a patient with COVID-19 resign from hospitalization during its duration and leave the hospital on its own request? The answer is no. He can do this only when the attending physician decides that the patient does not require further hospitalization.
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