On Thursday, 17 March the Saeima adopted amendments to the Law on the Rights of Patients, which provide that in the event the patient is unable to take a decision on medical treatment due to his or her state of health or age, the right to take a decision on consent to treatment or to refuse it will primarily granted to the patient’s authorised person.

Previously the law provided that the priority to represent and take a decision on the patient’s consent to treatment is given to the patient’s spouse, or, if none, to the closest relatives.

According to the authors of the draft law, the amendments provide that the person authorised by the patient takes priority over the spouse and relatives of the person. Thus, the ambiguities observed in practice and problems encountered by medical practitioners when it is necessary to obtain information on a person’s consent or refusal from treatment, as well as to provide information on the patient’s state of health, methods and options of treatment, will be solved, the authors of the draft law note.

Henceforth, every patient will be able to authorise his or her representative, regardless of whether he or she is a relative, a partner or any other person in the position of trust designated by the patient to ensure and protect his or her interests, highlighted Andris Skride, Chair of the Social and Employment Matters Committee responsible for the progress of the draft law in the Saeima.

Saeima Press Service