How to complain about the medical treatment and conditions at the institution during your stay?
When placed in a mental health care institution involuntarily, you may have complaints about various things. For example, the quality of the medical treatment, the quality of food or the general physical conditions at the institution.
You can submit the following complaints:
It is important to firstly seek a solution within your section of the mental health care institution. Depending on the gravity of the issue, you might turn to the nurse, your doctor or the head of the section. If your problem is not solved, you should complain to the administration of the hospital.
You can submit a complaint to the Health Board concerning the grounds and the formal procedure of your involuntary placement. The Health Board will evaluate if your treatment and conditions were compliant to the law. There is no specific application form, you can send an e-mail or letter via regular mail. The board will consider your application for free and ask you for further documentation if needed.
You can also write an application to the Chancellor of Justice (Õiguskantsler). Find more information about the functions of the Ombudsman and the order of complaints under the section Chancellor of Justice.
The personal and medical information that you have given to the institution has to be handled and protected according to the Personal Data Protection Act. If you consider that your right to data protection has been violated, you may turn to the Data Protection Inspectorate. Read more about Personal data or Medical data.