Ombudsman Peter Svetina welcomed patient rights advocates at his annual meeting on 20 June 2023. In his opening address, he noted that the pandemic has deepened the wounds of an already damaged health system and that the latter is facing increasing challenges. He expressed concern about the increasing inaccessibility of healthcare services, the shortage of healthcare staff, and the continuously long waiting times, and warned that the increased digitalization of healthcare services does not translate into adequate care for patients, especially for the elderly or people with disabilities.

The Deputy Ombudsman, Dr Dijana Možina Zupanc, who then chaired the meeting, briefly reviewed the main findings from the reports of the advocates. She found that face-to-face meetings with hospital management, discussions with relatives, and mediation help to resolve patients' problems more quickly. She also expressed her satisfaction that the advocates are working to ensure that infringements are not repeated where they have already been remedied once. The advocates stressed that the positioning of patient representation in the Ministry of Health's strategy is unclear and that support for their work is also weak.

Those present agreed that everything should be done to reduce waiting times, as this has a major impact on the health status of the population in general. It is also very important that realistic waiting times are recorded in the eZdravje system, as the status quo introduces a lot of uncertainty for health service users. They also agreed that it was unnecessary to direct patients to self-pay services outside the public health network. However, they also found that the eZdravje system is still full of bugs and very complicated for people to use.
The advocates pointed out that the number of patients without a named GP has increased and that the Ombudsman has also been receiving their complaints. According to Dr Možina Zupanc, the people who filed complaints pointed out that they were assigned to outpatient clinics for the patients without a named GP without being informed beforehand that their doctor had stopped working.

Those present agreed that such clinics should remain a transitional solution, as they do not allow for long-term sustainable treatment, but are otherwise suitable for administrative matters such as issuing sick leaves and the like. The advocates and the Ombudsman stressed the need to stop discriminating against the large part of the population that does not have a personal GP and to find ways to strengthen the public health system, as the economic consequences will affect those who are already lacking. "The state has a duty to ensure access to health services for all," stressed the Deputy Ombudsman on behalf of the Ombudsman institution.

They specifically addressed the issue of the lack of accommodation for the elderly following their hospital release. Ombudsman Peter Svetina has been warning those responsible for a long time that this issue requires a systemic solution and regrets that this has not yet been heeded.

At the regular annual meeting, patient rights advocates and representatives of the Ombudsman also discussed the adoption of the Long-Term Care Act. The Ombudsman is critical of the adoption process, as the timeline for adoption is too tight with all the uncertainties, and rushing it risks reckless solutions, the consequences of which will be borne by the users.

They also spoke about the shortage of specialists and observed that the pandemic has indeed had a major impact on changes in the health system and that a new wave of erosion of the welfare state is taking place. They agreed that there was a need to strengthen the supervision of private healthcare providers, as the advocates also noted cases where people's dignity was being violated. Strengthening is also needed in the area of palliative care.

Both the advocates and the Ombudsman considered that the steps towards digitalization of healthcare are not sufficiently prepared for more vulnerable groups of the population. It is essential to adopt national software quality standards and standardize procedures, and to systematically educate users on the use of information technologies in accessing the health system and during the treatment process. The amount of personal contact necessary to adequately treat the patient should also be defined. It is unacceptable that some healthcare providers continue to fail to respond to patients' needs even after several days, patient rights advocates warned.

There was also agreement on the urgent need to raise the level of professional supervision. Systematic monitoring of adverse events should also be put in place, in the same way as in other EU Member States. In the case of treatment errors, it is essential to find out what happened and to update management protocols accordingly. The patient rights advocates believe the findings should be made public, as all patients have the right to choose their providers.