Hello, is a patient with e.g. tuberculosis compulsorily hospitalized, or is it possible to refuse to go to hospital?
Pursuant to the norms of criminal law and the Act on Combating Infectious Diseases, a person who fails to undergo treatment is subject to criminal sanction and compulsory treatment. Pursuant to Art. 36.1 of the Act on the prevention and combating of infections and infectious diseases in humans, to a person who does not submit to vaccination, sanitary and epidemiological tests, sanitary procedures, quarantine or isolation, and in whom a particularly dangerous and highly infectious disease is suspected or diagnosed, constituting a direct threat to he alth or life of other people, a measure of direct coercion may be used, consisting in holding, immobilizing or forcibly administering drugs. A doctor who suspects or recognizes an infectious disease (e.g. tuberculosis) is obliged to instruct the patient or the person who actually care for the patient about precautionary measures to prevent transmission of the infection to other people. The fact of contracting tuberculosis shall be reported by the doctor to the voivodship sanitary inspector, competent for the place of the disease, or to a specialist unit designated by him, competent in the field of tuberculosis and lung diseases. A sanitary inspector, by way of an administrative decision, may order a sick or suspected person to undergo medical examinations, compulsory treatment, compulsory hospitalization, isolation or epidemiological supervision. Pursuant to the Act, a person suffering from tuberculosis, who does not suffer from mycobacteria, is subject to obligatory outpatient treatment. This obligation consists of undergoing medical examinations, other diagnostic tests and compliance with the prescribed treatment. In the case of diagnosing an infection that may be transmitted through sexual contact, the doctor is obliged to inform the infected person about the necessity to visit the doctor of the infected partner or sexual partners. The head of the unit in which compulsory hospitalization is performed is also obliged to notify the family or a person indicated by the person subject to compulsory hospitalization about the application of this measure.
Legal basis: ACT of 5 December 2008 on preventing and combating infections and infectious diseases in humans (Journal of Laws of 2008, No. 234, item 1570, as amended)
Remember that our expert's answer is informative and will not replace a visit to the doctor.
Przemysław GogojewiczIndependent legal expert specializing in medical matters.
More advice from this expert
Is it possible to reimburse a private denture by the National He alth Fund? [Expert advice]Can a nurse employed by ZOL inform about a patient's death? [Expert advice] Voluntary he alth insurance for a person working abroad [Expert advice] Business activity and we have to apply for he alth insurance [Expert advice]How do I get a referral for a free PSA test? [Expert advice]I am chronically ill: can ZOL discharge me without my consent? [Expert advice]Continuation of sick leave after the end of sickness benefit [Expert advice]The gambler's husband and the protection of the family against bankruptcy [Expert's advice]The teacher and the stay in the sanatorium that ends at the beginning of the school year [Expert's advice]Renewal / issue of a new disabled parking card [Expert's advice]Stay on L4 after an accident and a sanatorium due to another disease [Expert's advice]Work during maternity and parental leave [Expert's advice] He alth insurance break: what can I do? [Expert advice]Reimbursement of a rehabilitation bed or other equipment for a stroke survivor [Expert advice]Resignation from the sanatorium due to illness and the date of the next stay [Expert's advice]Sanatorium for a person assigned to the insurance of a spouse registered in the PUP [Expert's advice]Referral to the sanatorium: can I change the place? [Expert advice]The effects of orthodontic treatment and compensation [Expert's advice]A dietetics student at the Medical University and a visit to a psychiatrist [Expert advice]The white coat syndrome and the military fitness test [Expert's tip]Vaccinations against ticks. Where can I get vaccinated for free? [Expert advice]Contract-mandate and payable L4 [Expert's advice]Contract-order for a doctor for night duty [Expert's advice]Explosion of the syringe during treatment at the dentist and compensation [Expert advice]Departure to the retiree teacher's sanatorium [Expert's advice]A teacher's trip to a sanatorium during the school year and a sick leave [Expert's advice]Alcohol related car accident and hospital compensation [Expert advice]Thrombophlebitis and the disability group and the pension [Expert's advice]Change in the job size: what is the basis for calculating maternity allowance? [Expert advice]Sick leave for a sanatorium as part of disability prevention [Expert advice]