• Algemeen

LOC
Influential clients participating in health care

LOC is the organisation for client councils in health care. These represent the interests of people who need nursing and/or care, who have a psychiatric illness or an addiction and LOC furthers their say and participation in healthcare as well as in general life.
LOC offers information, advice, support and schooling to patients’ councils. Somewhere about 2200 patients’ council have joined LOC. The councils are active in institutions for old dependent people, psychiatric patients, addicts, homeless and battered women. As well as in organizations for home care and welfare.

 

History

The first patients council in a psychiatric hospital was installed in 1970. Most other hospitals followed suit as did other institutions where psychiatric patients were living. The ardent wish to have a say in how things were run was caused by the dissatisfaction of patients and workers with hospital conditions. The emancipation of psychiatric patients had begun just like it had with other groups in society, such as women and students. Developments like these prompted the government into action. The idea of legislation for all clients in health care and welfare was born. The reasoning behind this was first of all the inequality between client and provider and the differences between supply and demand caused by the absence of a free market.

 

Wmcz

It took until 1996 until the bill became law. The client’s co-determinations act in social and health care (Wmcz) is an act that is in fact a frame which gives room for a lot of self-regulation.
  

Requirements provider

  • To install a patients council in all of his establishments
  • To draw up a certain set of rules: who can be a member, the number of members, the way they are installed and the period the council will sit
  • To give the council facilities. Things like a budget for traveling and schooling, accommodations for meetings, computers and of course coffee and tea
  • To give all the information the patients’ council needs
  • To give information concerning the course of action conducted last year and to be conducted in the upcoming year
  • To deposit certain papers so clients can read them. Among them the year report, the main points of policy and all regulations concerning patients including patients’ complaints and patients’ council
  • To give a yearly account concerning the application of the Wmcz

 

Requirements patients’ council

  • To be representative
  • To be able to represent patients’ interests
  • To have a procedure for operating

 

Patients’ council rights

  • To advise the provider whenever the council needs to be asked or whenever it wants to on all matters concerning patients. Policy matters that are of direct influence on patients are subject to aggravated advice. This means the provider can’t take a decision that differs from the advice of the patients’ council without the permission of a special council.
  • To have influence on the constitution of the board. This means they have an absolute nomination of at least one member of the board.
  • To start proceedings with the special council and the court.
    Concerning the special council: provider and patients’ council can also start proceedings together.

Subjects for advice

  • Changes in objective or foundation (of the institution)
  • Transfers of control
  • Mergers
  • The entering or ending of a lasting cooperation with another institution
  • The partial or complete dissolution of the institution
  • Transfers
  • Major conversions/rebuildings
  • Major changes in organization
    Major changes in operations
  • The appointment of the people who are in control
  • Budgets and accounts
  • The general policy of clients’ admission and discharge.

Subjects for aggravated advice

  • The general policy concerning nutrition, safety, health, hygiene, spiritual care, social aid and recreation and entertainment
  • The quality system of care
  • The regulations concerning complaints and the appointment of members of the complaints’ commission
  • The regulations concerning the patients’ council and all other regulations concerning patients
  • The appointment of people who are in charge of wards or houses where patients live

The provider can decide to give a patients’ council more power than it’s entitled to according to Wmcz.