Understanding Your Rights & Responsibilities

Patient Care Partnership

Understanding your rights & responsibilities

Yishun Health is committed to giving you and your family quality health services that are safe, efficient and effective, while at the same time respecting your rights as an individual and patient of our hospital.

Patients are our priority. In keeping with our mission, core values and commitment, we have set up an environment of care and have put systems in place to ensure quality service. Our dedicated multi-disciplinary team of doctors and staff serves the community in all its ethnic and religious diversity.

Please do not hesitate to approach our staff if you need any assistance. We strive to make your experience a pleasant and comfortable one.

This brochure aims to explain the important basics about how you can expect to be treated during your stay and time with us. It will also cover what we would need from you to care for you better.

What are your rights and responsibilities?

You have the right to be provided with quality medical care

• We will make every effort to provide you with quality medical care through dedicated medical personnel whose primary objective is to safeguard your well-being and treat your medical condition.

• All medical decisions and recommendations on your treatment are made after careful deliberation, taking into account all available information and facts concerning your condition.

You have the right to be treated with dignity and respect

• You shall receive considerate, respectful, appropriate and cost-effective medical care, regardless of your age, gender, race, nationality, social status, physical or mental ability.

This includes being:

- Addressed by your proper name

- Provided with communication services like sign language, local language/dialect or foreign language interpretation if required

- Attended to and cared for with the understanding that other patients may have more urgent needs

• The hospital will make every effort to respect your emotional, social, spiritual and cultural needs so long as they do not cause disturbance or harm to others.

• Your personal safety includes receiving care in a safe setting that is:

- Being free from physical restraints, unless medically required in situations where there is a substantial risk of imminent harm to yourself or others

- Being provided with appropriate protection especially for the disabled, elderly and children

• You have the right to meet your family, friends and other visitors during visiting hours, unless your doctor or the hospital’s policy states otherwise. You and your family/nominated spokesperson also have the right to refuse visitors.

• You and/or your family/nominated spokesperson will be informed of the medical treatment which you will receive, and you can accept or refuse medical care or recommended treatment to the extent permitted by law. Please note that by doing so, you will have to accept the responsibility for any medical consequences resulting from your decision. In an emergency, the medical team will initiate treatment in your best interests and discuss further treatment with you and/or your family/nominated spokesperson.

• You have the right regarding how the staff of Yishun Health reaches you through electronic communication (e.g. text messages) for the purpose of appointments and other matters.

• You are entitled to a clean, safe and humane environment that affords reasonable protection from harm.

• You have the right to make Advance Care Plans (ACP) and appoint a substitute decision-maker (Nominated Healthcare Spokesperson or NHS), while you still have decision-making capacity. We will hear you out and try to understand your wishes, beliefs and values. The ACP will help the healthcare team and NHS honour your treatment preferences and wishes at a time when you have lost decision-making capacity.

• You have the right to formulate an Advance Medical Directive (AMD). This is a legal document which you sign in advance. In the event that you become terminally ill and unconscious, the AMD will inform the doctor treating you that you do not want any extraordinary life sustaining treatment to prolong your life or appoint a representative to make your healthcare decisions. The hospital will respect your wishes to the extent permitted by law and the hospital’s policy.

• You have the right to formulate a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA). This is a legal document which you sign in advance. In the event you should lose mental capacity, the LPA will inform your doctor treating you that you have authorised a representative to make healthcare decisions and act on your behalf. The hospital will respect your wishes to the extent permitted by law and the hospital’s policy.

• You shall be provided with respectful and compassionate care at the end of life, and where applicable, appropriate pastoral services.

• As medical research helps us improve healthcare, we may invite your involvement in research activities. You will be given information about the research and asked if you would like to participate.

You have the right to know the identities and roles of your healthcare team

• You are entitled to know the identities and any additional information of the healthcare practitioners responsible for your care.

You have the right to the privacy and confidentiality of your medical records

• You will be interviewed, examined and treated in surroundings designed to give you reasonable privacy.

• You are entitled to have your medical records read only by individuals involved in your care or who are monitoring the quality of your care or involved in medical research and education as authorised by law or the hospital. All information and records regarding your care will be kept confidential. If you require further information, please do not hesitate to ask any of the staff caring for you.

• You may obtain a copy of your medical report in accordance with the hospital’s policy.

You have the right to reader-friendly information about your treatment and will be provided with explanations and counselling

• You will be told of your medical condition, planned treatment and expected results, information on the risks, benefits and alternatives of treatment and any unanticipated outcomes (if any) in a language you can understand, where possible.

• You will be informed of your right to refuse or discontinue recommended treatment.

• You will be informed of the care needed after discharge. We will help you identify sources of follow-up care and provide information and, where possible, training on the self-care you will need at home.

You have the right to make queries

• Please feel free to ask any questions to obtain information necessary for your decision making. Our doctors and nurses are available to discuss the concerns you have about your care.

• If you have queries on the accuracy of your bills and hospital charges, you may request for a summarised list of charges and obtain information about them. Please contact our Business Office at 6407 8128 or email payment@1fss.com.sg.

You have the right to give a compliment or make a complaint

• Your feedback helps us improve our services and tells us what we are doing well and which areas we can improve. We appreciate your compliments if your experience has been a pleasant one. Your kind comments will encourage our healthcare team.

• If you have any feedback on our services, please contact our Patient Experience Office at 6602 2789 from Mondays to Fridays, 8.30am to 5.30pm, or email feedback@ktph.com.sg.

You have the right to a second opinion

• You may request for a second opinion on your care and we will try our best to facilitate this.

• You also have the right to leave the hospital against the advice of your doctor, unless otherwise stated by law or if you have certain diseases or are in legal custody. If you choose to do so, please be aware that the hospital will not be held responsible for any medical consequences pertaining to your health thereafter. You will be required to sign a ‘Acknowledgement of Refusal for Admission/ Request for Discharge Against Medical Advice’ form that will relieve the hospital of any responsibilities.

What are your responsibilities?

• You and your family/nominated spokesperson can take responsibility for your care by helping the medical team give the best possible care and treatment.

As a patient, you need to give the staff as much information as you can about your health by doing the below:

• Provide us with complete and accurate information about your health, including present conditions, past illnesses, hospitalisation, medications and any other matters that the hospital should be aware of.

• Provide us with complete and accurate personal particulars including your full name, address, date of birth and contact number.

• Ask questions if you do not understand matters relating to your illness, treatment or care. If you need more help, our staff will provide a support person for you. You and your family/nominated spokesperson are responsible for informing the hospital staff as to whether you clearly understand what is expected.

• Inform us of any change in your health and/or condition, and any problem you are having or have had, with your treatment.

• Inform us if you have any of these and want it appropriately effected during your admission:

- Advance Care Plans (ACP)

- Advance Medical Directive (AMD)

- Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) certificate

What would we need from you to provide care for you?

You need to follow the doctor’s recommended treatment plan and care. You will be asked to:

• Participate actively in your treatment including decisions about your treatment plan, taking your medicines and keeping your follow-up appointments.

• Inform the hospital of any problem which you may face in following the prescribed treatment plan.

• Take responsibility for any consequence if you refuse medical treatment or leave the hospital against medical advice.

You need to respect the confidentiality and privacy of others

You and your family/nominated spokesperson will be asked to:

• Follow all hospital rules and regulations concerning patients and visitors.

• Treat all hospital staff, other patients and visitors with courtesy and respect.

• Keep to your appointment time. If you are unable to do so, please notify the hospital in advance.

• Respect the privacy of other patients.

• Be responsible for the safekeeping of your own valuables and personal possessions while in the hospital.

• Treat the hospital’s property and facilities with due care and responsibility.

Other important patient information

Clinical Training

We are committed to the education and training of healthcare staff including medical, nursing, allied health students and trainees. We seek your cooperation when students and trainees participate in your care under supervision, as part of their clinical training.

Religious counselling

You are welcome to arrange for a religious counsellor to visit and/or pray for you while you are in the hospital.

• Please inform our nurse if you are expecting a religious counsellor to visit.

• Out of respect for other patients, please conduct your religious prayer quietly by your bedside so that others will not be disturbed.

• We will provide you with a list of contacts if you need help in finding a religious counsellor or religious centre in Singapore. Our nurses or medical social workers will also be able to assist in facilitating a spiritual counselling session.

Organ, tissue and whole body donation after death

Anyone above 18 years old, regardless of nationality, may pledge to donate their organs, tissues and/or whole body under the Medical Therapy, Education and Research Act (MTERA) for purposes of transplantation, therapy, education and research.

All Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents 21 years old and above, who are of sound mind, are included in the Human Organ Transplant Act (HOTA) unless they have opted out.

HOTA allows for the donation of organs (kidneys, heart, liver and cornea) for the purpose of transplantation in the event of their death. Individuals who opt out of HOTA will receive a lower priority on the organ transplant waiting list if they require an organ transplant in the future.

The forms for pledging under MTERA or opting out under HOTA can be obtained from our staff. For more information on organ donation, you may contact the National Organ Transplant Unit at 6321 4390 or visit the Live On website at www.liveon.gov.sg.

Hospital charges

You are required to:

• Pay promptly any financial amounts resulting from the care and treatment provided.

• Seek clarification promptly if there are financial issues which you do not understand.

Khoo Teck Puat Hospital • (65) 6555 8000 • www.ktph.com.sg

Yishun Community Hospital • (65) 6807 8800 • www.yishuncommunityhospital.com.sg

Yishun Health is a network of medical institutions and health facilities of the National Healthcare Group in the north of Singapore. It comprises Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, Yishun Community Hospital and community extensions such as Admiralty Medical Centre and Wellness Kampung.