Patient rights and responsibilities

(Rights of Children, Elderly and Patients not able to practice their rights, will be granted to their families/ guardians)

1. You have the right to understand and use all your rights. You will receive a written copy of these rights from the Reception as an outpatient & in Wards as an admitted patient. And if for any reason, you do not understand them, please contact any staff and ask for help, including interpretation if you want to be explained in another language.
2. You have the right to receive impartial care with dignity, respect, self-worth without discrimination, respecting your values and religious beliefs. This care shall be subject to availability, without interfering with other patient’s safety and the work environment and without contradiction with hospital rules & regulations.
3. You have the right to receive comprehensive medical care with the aim of reaching proper diagnosis and treatment of illness and injury.
4. You have the right to receive immediate emergency care, whenever needed, with no delay.
5. You have the right to know the identity of the physician or other healthcare practitioners responsible for your care.
6. You have the right to receive comprehensive information in a manner you can understand (from the healthcare team) about the diagnosis, proposed treatment, any change in your health status and the cause of these changes, alternative treatments, potential benefits and drawbacks to the proposed treatment, expected outcomes of care and treatment, likelihood of successful treatment, possible problems related to recovery and possible results of non-treatment and expected cost of care.
7. You have the right to have an interpreter (if available) if the language presents a problem to understand the details of your care and the treatment provided to you.
8. You have the right to give or not a written General Consent for treatment when you enter the hospital.
9. You have the right to give or not to give your written informed consent before surgery or any invasive procedures, anesthesia, the use of blood and its products and any other high-risk procedure and treatment.
10. You have the right to receive all information that you need before giving your consent for any proposed procedure or treatment; this information should include the benefits, available alternatives and the possible risks (if any) of the procedure or the treatment.
11. You have the right to participate in care decisions. We encourage Patients, Parents or Legal Guardians to participate in planning and implementing treatment together with the nurses and physicians, to the extent they wish.
12. You have the right to maintain your need for privacy for all clinical interviews/ examinations, procedures (including while being transported), and treatments and the confidentiality of all of your information.
13. You have the right to choose the treating doctor (depending on availability) in addition to the right to reject the treating doctor upon furnishing a genuine reason.
14. You have the right to refuse the treatment (if you would like to) and to be informed of the medical consequences due to your refusal. Accordingly, you will sign a form prepared to that effect and leave the hospital.
15. You have the right to refuse examination or observation by any person not directly responsible for your care. In such an event, such persons should have your permission to be present during case discussion, consultation, examination and treatment.
16. You have the right to be protected from physical, verbal and psychological assault.
17. You have the right to receive information from the organization that supports your choice to donate organs and other tissues.
18. You have the right to access your medical information as per our hospital policy & regulations.
19. You have the right to obtain a medical report and a copy of medical test results from the Medical Records Section.
20. According to Hospital Policies and Procedures and depending on availability and your health status, you have the right to have a family member or a guardian as an escort (if need be). Due to medical reasons certain units will not allow this. e.g. OT, ICU, NICU and Dialysis etc.
21. You have the right to receive a complete explanation of the need to be transferred to another treatment center and all reasonable alternatives to such a transfer. Before performing the transfer, the receiving institution must accept the transfer.
22. You have the right to complain through the Patient Relations Officer without any fear of reprisals about the care and services you are receiving and to have the hospital respond to you. Patients whether inpatients or outpatients, can contact Patient Relations Officer to give complaints and suggestions about services and have them addressed to the concerned department.
23. You have the right to appropriate assessment and pain management and receive education for yourself and your family about pain and pain management.
24. University Hospital Sharjah is committed to provide the dying patient with respectful and compassionate care and respects his/her unique needs.
25. You have the right to receive an itemized bill upon your request as an inpatient and explanation of all charges regardless of whether it is paid by you or by another source.
26. You have the right to receive written Discharge Instructions/Plans from the nursing team. This plan will highlight treatment, follow up and medical instructions of how to take care of yourself after you leave the hospital.
27. You have the right to seek a second opinion about your care without fear of compromise within or outside the organization. (If need be, you may be required to pay for the services).
28. You have the right to identify and involve which family member / friends, others, etc and who not to involve in your care decisions about your diagnosis and treatment.