Last News
Estonian doctors union (far not all doctors are its members) had an event called conference on ethics last week in Tallinn. It turned out the organisers had completely excluded two main topics related to ethics from its program. No speech on how decrease the wide practice of asking bribes by doctors (who, according to Justice Ministry annual corruption studies 2009, 2010 are most bribe taking professionals in Estonia, 9% (!) of those asked said their doctor has asked for bribe, summary of 2010 study here and no speech on how to increase patient safety and reach the patient rights law that Estonia still lacks. Doctors union has just declared its not supporting the draft of patient law presented by two MPs this autumn. The study about problems with patients safety and rights in Estonia up at Tartu University site that estimates 1500 perish in Estonia due to medical mistakes seems to irritate many of soviet minded doctors. Some of those old minded people requested at the event that when articles about patients abuse are revealed in media doctors involved should have right to reveal in turn the private medical data about these patients- its an highly nazy-like approach, or, accounting the communistic background of those people, stalinistic approach. Whether the patient was a little ill or bit more ill or very ill can not justify the abuses in hospitals neither the violation of criminal legislation in hospitals and people behind those abuses can not hide their responsibility behind the cry for getting right to humilate their victims with revealing whatever they wish from medical data that in case of Estonia can still also be falsificated after such incidents. This kind of practice would decrease even more the courage of people to reveal abuses in hospitals, even now many people are scared to speak publicly, despite speaking openly to patients union. Some top members (and ex-communists) of doctors union (Andres Ellamaa, Peeter Mardna) have been caught violating severely the legislation on medical complaints cases, and (Mardna) even violating criminal law, being now under investigation. Their lies have been distributed also by some other people, including general secretary of doctors union Katrin Rehemaa. One can easily wonder are they drived by anger being rid of their Soviet era privileges or violating laws and distributing lies is just deep in blood and head from Soviet times, so it just feels right to slam down on those who have disclosed hospitals abuses. Despite my recent optimism it seems that its still a long way to go until all Estonian health system and its powerful minority of some Soviet minded doctors will accept that European standards on patient safety and human rights are an essential part of modern society.
October 16, 2011. Over a year and half since Estonian Social Ministry and the staff of Tallinn biggest hospital responsible for the abuse and death of my son on October 15, 2009 organised massive pay back campaign for revealing the brutal abuse incidents in that hospital, I finally got two so-called expert papers, ordered by long Soviet era official from the 80 year old man in other town and his colleague. Reading those two documents that falsificate even the facts from my son´s medical file its obvious the two had either no idea about what are our complains about or they just helped to falsificate the case too. All these documents should have been given to me already in winter 2010 according to the law, so we could point out the falsifcation before the massive attack organised by the Estonian doctors union and medical staff concerned whom Tartu University medical professor and Patient union head both called as nothing least than maffia. The so called medical quality commission at social ministry that tried to silence me and the scandal in spring 2010 violated almost all chapters of the legislation regulating the work of that commission that among other things requests that no colleagues of doctors under investigation should belong to the commission - in our case five doctors - colleagues of the doctor under investigation belonged to commission. We are still waiting in autumn 2011 for some missing documents. I wonder whether these cruel people really believed that they can avoid trial and revealing the truth.
On afternoon Oct 14, 2011 I also finally got the testimonies written by doctors after autumn 2009. I knew what to expect but reading them yesterday, on Oct 15, 2011 I was only wondering how some of them managed to lie even about the facts from medical files itself.
There has been at least some good news in last month - two Estonian MPs - social democrats Heljo Pikhof and Eiki Nestor have compiled the draft of Patients law that Estonia still lacks, despite being out from Soviet rule over 20 years by now. Both the Patients and Nursers Associations also wish to amend it with several proposals. There was an interesting debate on that draft in radio yesterday where the Soviet era educated colleague of the people who abused my son tried to ridicule the need for law on patient rights. I truelly hope current parliament will find courage to adopt the Patient Law despite even Prime Minister Andrus Ansip - who is married to doctor - and his Reform Party have been not in favor for the law on patients rights. But at least two parliament parties out of four - Social Democrats and Reform Party coalition member in parliament Pro Patria and Res Publica Union included it to their party election program in winter 2011.
On Oct 14, 2011 Tartu University launched a special website with medical treatment guidelines to increase quality in health sector and patient safety in Estonia - another good step.
Estonian business daily revealed same day it had asked the help from court in summer to find out who were behind nasty and even life-threathing comments in web after the daily published articles about some doctors travelling on expense of drug firms to trips where holiday, not work-related purpose might have been main goal, and same journalist and photographer also released candid camera video about drug company event in Tallinn that turned into alcohol party and was fined by State Agency of Medicine later with 25 000 euros for violating legislation. Well, with the help of court what was suspected was revealed - most nasty comments to revealing stories were written by some doctors who had to find out now hope to stay anonymous in net can turn into embarrassing public moment with the help of court.
One of the moments that break me fully down two years ago arrived weeks after I had lost my son when I learned that the report of the test (concluding II stage tumor) done to the piece cut off from son at what we had considered was cosmetic procedure in 2006 belonged to another person who - in difference of my son - also had some problem with eye as the test noted. The so-called cosmetic op 2006 was done in one clinic by doctor we never saw again, test sent and done in other bigger clinic as routine and the unexpected result told by third person weeks later. Some additional doc-s I have got finally last weeks have outlined that switch of first test again. That diagnosis itself has however nothing to do with complaints of abuse in hospital, described HERE.
August 8, 2011, Public letter (with the proposals on how to strengthen patient´s safety and set up an objective commission to review medical errors and massive abuse complaints in Estonian, mainly Tallinn hospitals), compiled by the Patients Advocacy Association with the joint proposals of victims and their relatives has been sent to the Estonian parliament.
July 1, 2011, Estonian Patients Advocacy Association invited the relatives of hospital abuse victims to the roundtable in June, introduced the overview about latest abuses in hospitals and asked roundtable for the proposals on how to increase medical treatment quality in hospitals, decrease abuse of patients and call authorities to set up an objective medical errors commission. The association sent the same overview about latest abuses in Estonian, mainly Tallinn hospitals already in May also to Prime Minister A. Ansip whose adviser K. Kukk replies weeks later with short note that the association calls "no answer at all".
May 30, 2011, Social Affairs Committee of the Estonian Parliament decides to create a special working group after the committee extended session that discussed the ongoing claims about medical errors in Estonia, abuse of patients and lack of patients rights. One small step forward! Estonian Patients Advocacy Association request that the long time health quality claims supervisor will be exluded from the work of the commission due to repeated violation of legislation and personal help to cover up the medical errors and punish with lies and public humilation the patients and their relatives who have dared to disclose the cases.
May 5, 2011,
April 18, 2011,
April 6, 2011. Estonian TV program Pealtnägija revealed today with candid camera today how cruelly staff treats patients and threatens relatives and how doctors, even hospital chief of the hospital can lie without blink of eye, and how they try to cover it all up. That is the branch of same evil Estonia´s biggest PERH hospital where we were. I read after the program later the chief of the hospital branch had been sentenced to prison in 2006 for 5 years for bribing - probaly its possible only in ex-Soviet mentality that some a person like that is promoted by hospital board to superviser so many people. Just few days later another candid camera video by journalists of Estonian business daily revealed how international drug companies brainwash Estonian doctors, and how easily even in front of camera the doctors can lie without knowing their lies are illustrated with candid camera video.
March 23, 2011. Coalition program for next government released after recent elections - turns out Estonian Reform party chaired by PM Andrus Ansip has kicked off the coalition partner´s election promise to compile and adopt finally Patient Rights Law in Estonia that the ex-Soviet state still lacks unlike Nordic and most Western states. No wonder, ex-communist Ansip is married to a doctor working for foreign drug company like some Ansip´s friends making good profit in medicine as media has revealed. Money, not obeying human rights matter.
Feb. 3, 2011 - 94% of the 1700 people who responded to Estonian Postimees-daily net poll said they support a totally new medical errors/quality evaluation commission with lawyers, doctors and patients investigating and evaluating the medical errors instead of (current, highly corrupted system) only doctors evaluating the cases.
Feb 2, 2011 - It turned out during the meeting with the long time head of Estonian Patients Advocacy Association today that Estonian government has adopted Belarus style cover-up about the violation of human rights in some Estonian hospitals. Estonian Foreign Ministry and other official institutions involved did not even mention in the Estonian human rights report to UN 2011 the cruelity disclosed in recent years in Estonian health care. No man, no problem as already Stalin.
In light of vast criticism made by UN, Estonian Patients Advocacy Association etc about the severe violation of human rights of patients in Estonia the cover-up style of authorities is very undemocratic and rather Sovetic.Estonia presented its new human rights report to UN and the report was discussed on February 2, 2011. Despite UN has made criticism about the failure of protecting human rights in Estonian hopsitals, Estonian authorities, including Foreign Ministry excluded the topic from its report.
In its summer 2010 report about Estonia UN Human Rights Committee indicated - UN is concerned that Estonian Chancellor of Justice is not sufficiently involved in the promotion and protection of human rights, United Nations said in July 2010 report. "The State party should either provide the Chancellor of Justice with a broader mandate to more fully promote and protect all human rights or achieve that aim by some other means, in full compliance with the Paris Principles, and take into account in this regard the requirements for the national preventive mechanism under the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment," UN wrote in its report about Estonia after Geneva session July 2010.Fall 2010, 2011 : Estonian Patient Advocacy Association withdrew from state medical errors commission saying the commission is not objective, its members are not punished if they even lie and the commission is not protecting patients human rights in Estonia. In some cases the leaders of the commission have severely violated most main principles of the legislation, including against the law even the doctors from the hospital under investigation to evaluate the complains against the same hospital.
January 2011: Two Estonian parties, Fatherland and Pro Patria Union & Social Democrats include Patients Rights Law into their parliament elections program. We welcome the step and hope it will be followed also by the two major parties who have opposed the law on patients human rights the most - government coalition leading Reform party and the Central Party from opposition, both being led by ex Communists (note - however, after the elections 2011 the proposal to compile Patient Rights Law was forgotton again and not included to the treaty of the government coalition, compiled of both Fatherland and Pro Patria Union and Reform Party).
January 25, 2011: Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet (Reform Party) got upset at the human rights press conference in Tallinn when asked why his party that has ruled longer than any other party has not adopted neither included Patients Rights Law into its program. "It is not Reform Party meeting," the minister slammed at the press conference. The chairman of the party, PM Andrus Ansip has been as reluctant to discuss and admit the violation of law and human rights in Estonian hospitals.
January 27, 2011. "The current situation when people who have disclosed the problems in some hospitals have been punished in Estonia with libels and public condemnation organised by some high rank officials is not proper for any democratic state. Its time to start respecting human rights in Estonian hospitals," Toomas Trapido, Member of Estonian Parliament commented the year long battle for patiens rights law in a public statement. Trapido is one of MPs who disclosed a year ago his father was also tortured in Tallinn hospital, being chained to bed against his will and chemically/phyisically suppressed. "We managed to change the hospital that felt like we had switched hell to heaven," Trapido told parliament in January 2010 at the parliament session. In spring his mother, a life-time doctor who has also worked in Sweden, compared the patient-oriented hospitals and health system in Nordic States to post-Soviet Estonia, outlining several shortages in Estonian health care and stressing the need to realize problems and change them in order to make the hospitals and treatments of patients more human and respect the rights of patients.
Two major studies compiled by Justice Ministry and launched in June 2010 and September 2009 have indicated that doctors in Estonia are the most corrupted professional in that country, with 9 percent of those polled saying they have been requested a bribe by their doctor during last 12 monts. The lack of order and lack of punishment for violations committed in medicine is also damaging the reputation of honest doctors.
November 2, 2009. I am revealing in a note to media several details about the brutal treatment of my 26 year old son in Tallinn biggest hospital. Hundreds of people respond already same day on Estonian media websites decsribing cruelity they have experienced or witnessed in Estonian, mainly Tallinn and most of all in the very same hospital. Media had started to contact me already a week after my son perished there in mid-October. I wished to have at least few weeks of peace before I revealed the horror my son had to experience there. The scale of lies, falsification of documents, including by some Social Ministry health officials and the threats that followed were simply discusting. Among the people who contacted me saying they have had several similar experiences themselves were also some members of Estonian parliament of whom one was ready to launch a public struggle against the corrupted, cruel and Soviet style Estonian medicine where nobody seems to be responsible for anything, even when people are tortured and lives are lost due to medical errors.
Back to full front page from HERE
