Upon learning from the media about suspected numerous shortcomings of the competent authorities regarding the exercise of the rights of the citizen of Rwanda married to a citizen of Serbia, the Protector of Citizens launched own-initiative investigation against the Ministry of Interior and the Republic Health Insurance Fund.

The Protector of Citizens learned from the media that a citizen of Rwanda was charged a service in the Clinic for Gynecology and Obstetrics, Clinical Center of Serbia even though she had been married to a Serbian citizen, as well as that their child, who was born mid last year in the Republic of Serbia, has not yet been issued a health card. The Protector of Citizens will also investigate the media allegations about the reasons why a Rwandan citizen was not granted a temporary stay in the Republic of Serbia on the grounds of family reunification.

The Protector of Citizens will request the MOI to provide information within 15 days on the circumstances of the case, and primarily on whether the Rwandan citizen applied to this ministry with a request for temporary residence in Serbia on the grounds of family reunification and, if so, why temporary residence was not granted to her.

In addition, given that it is necessary for the Rwandan citizen to stay in Serbia as she is married to our citizen and has a child with him, the Protector of Citizens requests MOI to notify him on the activities that can be taken to prevent family separation.

From the RHIF, the Protector of Citizens requests that he be informed on all the circumstances of this case within 15 days, and primarily on whether the Rwandan citizen had health insurance deriving from her husband’s insurance at the time of giving birth last year and whether the hospital acted properly when it charged the foreign national for health care.

The Protector of Citizens also requests the competent Health Fund to inform him about the reasons why a health card has not yet been issued to a child whose father resides in Serbia and holding citizenship, as well as what measures will be taken to issue the card to the child as soon as possible.

Ab sofort bietet der Thüringer Bürgerbeauftragte, Dr. Kurt Herzberg, seine Bürger-Sprechtage auch über ein Videokonferenz-Tool an.

Über eine datenschutzkonforme Anwendung können sich die Bürgerinnen und Bürger ganz einfach am PC in die Sprechstunde einwählen. Dazu wird ihnen per Mail ein Link zugesandt. Die Gesprächsteilnahme geht problemlos auch über das Smartphone, sofern ein geeigneter Webbrowser (z. B. Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Chromium, Opera oder Vivaldi) verwendet wird.

„Gerade bei komplizierten Sachverhalten oder starken Emotionen ist das direkte persönliche Gespräch für die Bürger oft sehr viel einfacher als einen Brief oder eine E-Mail zu schreiben“ so Herzberg. Und weiter: „Zuhören, nachfragen, verstehen, manchmal auch beruhigen oder Mut machen – dabei ist es für beide Seiten hilfreich, wenn man sich gegenseitig ‚ins Gesicht‘ sehen kann.“ Aber nicht nur wegen der derzeitigen Lock down-Bedingungen seien solche Gespräche manchmal schwer zu realisieren. Auch die Anreise nach Erfurt oder zu den auswärtigen Sprechtagen sei manchen Bürgerinnen und Bürgern nicht einfach möglich. Daher habe er sich entschieden, für diese Fälle auch Sprechstunden per Video-Chat anzubieten.

Durch das digitale Angebot können nun Bürgerinnen und Bürger im persönlichen Gespräch mit Dr. Herzberg ihr Anliegen vortragen, wenn sie nicht im Einzugsgebiet des jeweiligen Sprechtags wohnhaft sind oder pandemiebedingt der Sprechtag vor Ort nicht durchgeführt werden kann.

Eine telefonische Terminvereinbarung unter 0361/ 57 311 38 71 für die Online-Sprechtage ist im Vorfeld in jedem Falle notwendig.

Peter Tyndall, Ombudsman e Presidente dell’Istituto Internazionale dell’Ombudsman (IOI), ha accolto con molta soddisfazione la Risoluzione delle Nazioni Unite in merito all’istituto dell’Ombudsman, adottata dall’Assemblea Generale il 16 dicembre 2020.​​​

La Risoluzione ONU rappresenta un forte sostegno per i principi chiave dell’istituto dell’Ombudsman, che comprendono l’indipendenza, l’oggettività, la trasparenza, la giustizia e l’imparzialità. Costituisce un importante passo in avanti nel garantire un riconoscimento mondiale al lavoro delle istituzioni dell’Ombudsman nella promozione della buona amministrazione, dei diritti umani, del buon governo e dello stato di diritto.

La Risoluzione (n. 186 della 75esima sessione) è stata adottata dall’Assemblea Generale dell’ONU il 16 dicembre 2020.

La Risoluzione è stata proposta dal Regno del Marocco ed è stata co-patrocinata dall’Irlanda attraverso il Dipartimento degli Affari Esteri e del Commercio. Essa rappresenta l’apice dell’attività dell’IOI per sviluppare una relazione più salda con l’ONU.

L’Ombudsman dell’Irlanda, Peter Tyndall, è il Presidente dell’IOI – l’unico organismo mondiale per la cooperazione delle istituzioni indipendenti dell’Ombudsman. L’IOI conta più di duecento membri provenienti da più di cento nazioni in tutto il mondo. La Segreteria Generale dell’IOI è situata a Vienna presso gli uffici dell’Ombudsman dell’Austria.

“La Risoluzione costituisce un forte sostegno per i Principi sulla Protezione e la Promozione dell’Istituzione dell’Ombudsman – i Principi di Venezia – e stabilisce questi Principi come il nuovo standard globale per l’Ombudsman”

ha affermato Peter Tyndall.

I Principi di Venezia sono venticinque principi che proteggono e promuovono l’istituto dell’Ombudsman.

Werner Amon, Segretario Generale dell’IOI e Ombudsman dell’Austria, ha spiegato che: “Questo è un passo importante per rafforzare le istituzioni indipendenti dell’Ombudsman in tutto il mondo e per creare una consapevolezza a livello internazionale sul ruolo fondamentale che queste rivestono nella protezione e nella promozione dei diritti umani. La Risoluzione inoltre riconosce e sottolinea l’importanza di una stretta cooperazione tra l’IOI e l’ONU”.

Le informazioni che i membri dell’IOI raccolgono sulle nuove tendenze emergenti e sulle buone prassi possono essere di grande valore per l’ONU, in quanto monitora questioni specifiche, sviluppa politiche e pianifica diverse iniziative. In cambio, l’ONU può aiutare l’IOI e i governi in tutto il mondo, dal momento che la sua considerevole influenza contribuisce a promuovere gli standard riconosciuti e a proteggere gli Ombudsmen minacciati.​​

La Risoluzione aiuterà a modellare le future relazioni tra l’IOI e l’ONU come alleati importanti nella realizzazione del programma sui diritti umani dell’ONU.

​ Il documento è qui disponibile nella sua versione ufficiale in lingua inglese e nella versione tradotta in italiano a cura della dott.ssa Gloria Bertotti dell’Ufficio del Difensore civico.​

Allegati

Risoluzione ONU 75/186 - versione ufficiale inglese

PDF

Risoluzione ONU 75/186 - versione in italiano

PDF

The Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman, Margaret Kelly, has called for clarity over who is responsible for paying the care fees of adults who have a combination of health and social care needs, including those in residential or nursing homes.

The Ombudsman’s call was made following the publication of three reports into complaints from families who said that their Health and Social Care Trust had failed to carry out assessments to decide whether they could obtain Continuing Healthcare.  Continuing Healthcare (CHC) is the term used for the practice of the health service meeting the cost of any adult social care need which is driven primarily by a health need.

Under the current guidance Trusts are responsible for carrying out assessments of need.  If an assessment finds someone has primarily a health care need rather than social care then the Trust is responsible for paying for that care regardless of setting.  If the primary need is identified as social care then Trusts are entitled to recover the costs of that care.

However, the investigations carried out by the Ombudsman found that Trusts were unsure of their responsibilities around CHC, even to the point of stating that it was not available in Northern Ireland. The Ombudsman upheld the complaints, finding not only that Trusts failed to carry out the assessments but also that they did not have the proper tools in place to carry them out.

Ms Kelly said, “The concerns over the improper application of Continuing Healthcare have been around since they were highlighted in a report by AgeNI in 2014.  Since then we have investigated a number of complaints about these issues. 

The three reports we have just published are the latest to find that Trusts are reluctant to apply the existing Department of Health guidance because they are awaiting the results of a consultation it carried out in 2017.

The failures to carry out the assessments caused the families who complained to us real distress and frustration. It’s vital that other families who may be facing a decision over whether to use life savings or sell the family home to fund the care of a loved one are given clarity over whether they are entitled to CHC.”

I believe the current system is unsustainable, which is why I am calling on the Trusts, together with the Department of Health and others to agree a uniform approach for assessing all future applications for Continuing Healthcare in Northern Ireland, and to make this information available to those in care and their families.”

The full reports can be found here.

 back to news