Health institutions and the Ministry of Health received 2.045 complaints last year, mostly related to the length of waiting and the quality of services, the procedure of health workers or associates, according to the report of Vojislav Šimun's department on patient complaints during 2023.
According to the document, there were no reports of suspicion of corruption last year, and the largest number of 1.902 complaints submitted to health institutions concerned the Podgorica Health Center (819), the Clinical Center of Montenegro (755), the Institute for Public Health of Montenegro Gore (106), Berane Health Center (44), Nikšić Health Center (32), Bar General Hospital (20) and Institute for Emergency Medical Assistance (21).
"The listed institutions provide the largest number of services on an annual basis and proportionally have the largest number of complaints," the report emphasized.
In 2023, there were no complaints from citizens in the health institutions of the Andrijevica Health Center, the Ulcinj Health Center, and the Cetinje General Hospital.
"During 2023, 143 complaints were submitted to the Ministry of Health regarding the work of health institutions: of which 34 were related to the quality of the health service, 16 were to the other category, 24 were to the organization of the health service, 15 to the waiting time for a specialist examination, and 32 to the behavior of the health worker/associate complaints", the report states.
From that department, they appeal to patients to express their views and any problems they face in healthcare institutions, "so that we can eliminate deficiencies in the system and make the system safer, more efficient and more accessible."
The Ministry of Health emphasizes that they immediately respond to requests and complaints from patients.
"Health institutions, in writing at the request of the Ministry of Health or the patient after determining the circumstances for individual cases, inform the Ministry of Health about the outcome and the actions taken. After that, the Ministry of Health informs the patient who submitted the complaint. The largest number of objections (complaints) are made by citizens over the phone and most of them are resolved on a daily basis. Also, a significant number of citizens' complaints are unfounded, which is determined after the procedure has been carried out, and the patient is informed about it," it was explained.
The Ministry of Health conducted, it is stated, three extraordinary external checks of the quality of professional work.
"Submitting a complaint shows that patients are aware of their own rights through the Institute of Patient Rights Defenders, as well as increasing trust in the institutions of the system. Directors of health institutions submit regular quarterly and annual reports to the Ministry of Health on submitted patient complaints. The Law on Patients' Rights stipulates that a patient who is denied the right to health care, i.e. is not satisfied with the provided health service or the actions of a health worker, can submit a complaint to the director of the health institution or the protector of patients' rights," the report states.
According to the procedure, upon a patient's complaint, the director or the protector of patients' rights immediately, and at the latest within three days from the date of filing the complaint, determines all the circumstances and important facts related to the allegations made in the complaint and informs the complainant accordingly.
"Patients have the option of submitting a complaint to the Ministry of Health. Complaints submitted to the Ministry of Health are forwarded to the health institutions they refer to, in order to determine the factual situation and the measures taken, of which the patient will be informed," it was concluded.
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