You have the right to be informed about your state of health (Article L.1111-2 of the Act of 4 March 2002).
This information relates to the examinations, treatments and preventative actions offered, their usefulness, urgency, consequences and the common risks associated with them, as well as to other possible solutions and foreseeable consequences if refused.
Ensuring your safety is one of our priorities. Within this framework, we have implemented a policy of identity control throughout your care pathway. Your contribution is essential for this policy. Throughout your stay you will be asked to remind us of your identity.
Confidentiality of your stay: You may opt not to disclose your presence at our clinic by informing the admissions office on arrival.
Certain information concerning you that is collected during your stay will be recorded electronically (unless you make a substantiated objection). All administrative and medical data will be recorded during your stay, which may be used to create statistics (in application of the Decree of 22 July 1996 concerning the collection and processing of medical data referred to in Article L. 710-6 of the French Public Health Code).
In accordance with medical ethics and the provisions of the French Data Protection Act of 6 January 1978, patients may exercise their rights of access and rectification with the physician responsible for the medical information by contacting the practitioner who compiled the file (Articles 26, 27, 34 and 40 of the Act of 6 January 1978).
Medical practices have made considerable progress in recent years. These developments are the result of therapeutic, medicinal and surgical innovations, as well as technological advances in diagnostics.
Patient information and informed consent form the basis of the relationship. The Victor Hugo Clinic ensures that these fundamental rights are respected. The physician will provide you with information and answer any questions you may have in order to provide clarification, advise you on your health choices and ensure “shared decision-making”. You also have the right to expressly request not to be informed.
The physicians and nurses are available to give you any advice required to ensure that your treatment and examinations take place in optimal conditions. In some cases, specific information documents will be given to you concerning certain examinations, procedures or treatment. These written documents are in addition to the spoken information given.
The Act of 4 March 2002 allows you to designate a trusted person. You are free to choose this person, who may accompany you at every stage of your dealings with the Victor Hugo Clinic and attend medical appointments in order to assist you with the decision-making process.
The physician will consult with this person if your state of health does not allow you to receive information or express your will yourself.
The contact person may be contacted for questions relating to the organisation of your stay (to provide information, bring personal belongings, etc.). They will be informed of your condition in the event of an emergency.
Minors cannot designate a trusted person. Guardianship: patients under guardianship cannot designate a trusted person. If a trusted person was designated before the guardianship was established this may be confirmed or revoked by a judge.
Note: The trusted person may be different from the contact person. They cannot give consent to care on your behalf.
Holders of parental authority may consent to the care and surgery of minors.
If a holder of parental authority refuses treatment and this refusal may have serious consequences for the minor’s health, the physician will provide the necessary treatment.
Nevertheless, the law provides that a minor has the right to be informed and to participate in the decision-making in a manner appropriate to his or her degree of maturity.
If a minor objects to the holders of parental authority being consulted in order to keep his or her state of health secret, the physician may provide the treatment or perform the procedure after making every attempt to change the minor’s mind. In this situation, the minor may be accompanied by an adult of his or her choice.
When a patient is no longer able to manage his or her assets, they must be represented or assisted in order to safeguard their interests in accordance with the Act of 3 January 1968. Special attention is paid to protected adults.
We are committed to respecting their rights throughout their stay. Protected adults must consent to the medical procedure, regardless of the type of protection afforded to them. If they are lucid, their consent must be sought in addition to that of the guardian, and possibly that of the family council.
In accordance with the Léonetti Law of 22 April 2005, any adult may issue advance directives in anticipation of a time when they will be unable to express their wishes, e.g. for end-of-life care.
These directives indicate the patient’s wishes in relation to the conditions for limiting or ending treatment. They will be consulted prior to making any medical decision. Their content prevails over any other non-medical opinion.
Renewable every three years, these directives may, in the meantime, be revoked or modified at any moment.
In the event of death, the deceased will be transferred to the mortuary of your choice. Under certain conditions and at the family’s request, the deceased may be transferred to their home (further information can be obtained from the nurse in charge of the service).
Organ or cell donations (blood, bone marrow, etc.) can save lives or improve the health of patients. The “Bioethics” law of 6 August 2004 adopts the principle of presumed consent. Any person who has not expressed their opposition to the donation of their organs or tissues will be considered as having given their consent.
Whatever your position (for or against organ donation), please inform your family and friends as their testimony will be sought.
