PROPER information will have to be provided to patients before sterilisation in both Slovak and minority languages to ensure that patients fully understand it, according to a Health Ministry directive, to become effective as of November 1, the SITA newswire reported.
The new directive should increase the protection of people who request sterilisation, SITA wrote.
Patients will also be required to sign an informed consent in a language they understand, and this document will then be included with their health records, according to the ministry. If the person in question does not read the language, the health-care worker has to read it out loud before requesting the patient to sign it.
Slovakia has faced accusations of forced sterilisations performed on Roma women in the past, with several of the cases appearing at the European Court for Human Rights (ECHR). In its most recent ruling, the ECHR ruled on November 13, 2012 in the case of two Roma women who were sterilised when they were minors, in the Krompachy hospital without the proper consent of their parents, SITA wrote.
Source: SITA
Compiled by Michaela Terenzani from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
