Family had to cite patient rights law to both stay with injured daughter at Riga children's hospital
Parents of three-year-old Anna describe how, during treatment at the Children's Clinical University Hospital, they had to invoke the Patient Rights Law so both could be with their daughter. They say the staff knew the law but only applied it after being reminded.
Three-year-old Anna fell while playing during a visit to Riga Zoo and hurt her knee. A small pebble became embedded in the soft tissues; it could not be removed at home, so the family went to the Children's Clinical University Hospital (BKUS).
At the emergency centre entrance, the parents were told that only one of them could enter. After the family referred to the law, both were allowed inside. Later, during treatment, one parent was again asked to wait outside. When the girl, in pain, needed both mother and father, the father was let in only after the mother cited Article 13 of the Patient Rights Law.
Medical staff first tried to remove the foreign body without anaesthesia. The procedure was interrupted and anaesthesia was used. The mother says information about the planned treatment was provided too late; had she received it earlier, she could have told them that an attempt had already been made at home. This, she believes, caused the child unnecessary distress.
The family stresses that hospital staff knew the patient rights but enforced them only after being reminded. The law gives patients the right to support from family members during treatment; restrictions are allowed only when necessary and proportionate. In this case, the treatment room later proved large enough for both parents.
The parents call on the hospital to ensure that rights are respected without the need to invoke legal provisions, noting that not every family has legal knowledge.
