Key Benefits:
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DRAFT LAW NO. 400 /X
Family monitoring of children and people with impairment admitted
Exhibition of reasons
The legal arrangements for follow-up of child and person with disabilities admitted to
hospital or health unit, is found in scattered legislation and does not provide for the right
to the monitoring may be limited for public health reasons.
Being clear that this right cannot be absolute, the law has to predict that the doctor
responsible can upon evaluation of the case, prevent follow-up, in cases in
that the interned person is a carrier of communicable disease and in which contact with
others constitute a risk to public health.
Without introducing any background changes to the material regime of the follow-up
hospital, aggregates in one diploma the legal rules regarding follow-up
hospital who are found to be dispersed in Law No. 21/81 of August 19 (follow-up
family of hospitalized child), in Law 109/97, of September 16 (follow-up
family of hospitalized disabled persons) and in the Decree -Law No. 26/87 of January 13 that
provides for the right to free meal for the companion of the hospitalized child, making
however to depend this right on the fact that the chaperone is exempt from the payment of
moderating rate.
It is also taken advantage of, to update the monitoring regime, by extending it, in a
perspective of humanization of health care to other people, such as seniors in
state of dependence, and conforming the age of the child to all legal effects to the
international instruments of which Portugal is a signatory, namely the Convention of the
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Rights of the Child, establishing itself by extending the scheme to all persons with age to
at the age of 18.
Finally, it proceeds to the enlargement and updating of the right to free meal, of which
pass to be holders, verified certain conditions, the person's chaperones
interned.
Thus, with the aim of allowing the limitation of the right to follow-up
permanent, based on the fact that such monitoring constitutes a risk to the
public health, the Deputes of the Parliamentary Group of the Socialist Party, present the
following draft law:
Article 1.
Scope
This Law establishes the scheme of the family monitoring of child, person with
disability, elderly people in addictive situation, and people with incurable disease
in an advanced state and in a final state of life, in hospital or health unit.
Article 2.
Family follow up of interned child
1. The child, aged up to the age of 18, interned in hospital or unit of health,
is entitled to the permanent monitoring of the father and the mother, or of person who the
replace.
2. The child over the age of 14 years will be able to, if he so understand, assign the
accompanying person, or even prescinding of it, without prejudice to the application of the
article 6.
3. The exercise of the monitoring, provided for in this Law, is free of charge, and may not
the hospital or the health unit require any retribution.
4. In cases where the child interned is the carrier of communicable disease and in
that contact with others constitutes a risk to public health, the right to
follow-up will be able to cease or be limited, by written referral from the doctor
responsible.
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Article 3.
Family monitoring of dependent persons
1. The disabled, the elderly people in dependence situation, the people
with incurable disease in advanced state and people in a final state of life,
internships in hospital or health unit, are entitled to follow up
permanent of ascending, of a descendant, of the spouse or equated, and in the
absence or hindrance of these, of familial or of the person who replaces it.
2. It is applicable to the family monitoring of the persons identified in the number
previous article numbers 3 and 4 of the previous article.
Article 4.
Conditions of the monitoring
1. Permanent family monitoring is exercised both in the daytime period and
nocturage, and with respect for the instructions and technical rules regarding the care of
applicable health and by the remaining standards set out in the respective regulation
hospital.
2. Unless exceptional cases, it is vehement to the accompanying person to attend interventions
surgical to which the interned person is subjected, as well as to treatments in which
their presence is detrimental to the correction and effectiveness of them.
Article 5.
Cooperation between the accompanist and the services
1. Health professionals must provide the accompaniment to the convenient
information and guidance, so that this one can, if it so understands, under the supervision
of those, collaborate in the provision of care to the interned person.
2. The chaperones shall comply with the instructions which, pursuant to this Law,
they are given to them by the health professionals.
Article 6.
Meals
The accompanying person of the person, is entitled to free meal, in the hospital or in the
health unit, whenever it stays at the institution 6 hours a day, be exempt from the
moderating fee payment in access to health benefits under the System
National Health, and provided that one of the following conditions has been verified:
a) the interned person finds himself in danger of life;
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b) the interned person finds himself in the postoperative period and up to 48 hours after the
intervention;
c) when the accompanying person is a mother and is breastfeeding the interned child;
d) when the person interned is isolated for reasons of medico-surgical criterion;
e) when the accompanying person resides at a distance greater than 30 km from the place where if
it situates the hospital or the health unit where the internment runs.
Article 7.
Absence of companion
When the person interned may not be accompanied under the terms of this Law, the
administration of the hospital or the health unit should diligenate so that the person
internothing is provided personalized listening by changing the ratio
nurse / patient.
Article 8.
Abrogation standard
Act No 21/81 of August 19, Law No 109/97 of September 16, is repealed.
Article 9.
Transient standard
Article 4 of this Law shall come into force with the State Budget Act for 2008,
by holding up to that date in force the Decree-Law No 26/87 of January 13.
S. Bento, July 20, 2007
The Deputies