The order, issued June 9 by Deidre S. Gifford, MD, acting commissioner of Connecticut’s department of public health, states that patients with disabilities who need specific assistance may have one designated support person with them in the hospital, including a family member, personal care assistant or similar disability service provider. Hospitals must provide the accompanying individuals with protective gear.
Hospitals across the state, and across the country, have implemented visitor restrictions over the last few months to help curb the spread of the new coronavirus. Many prohibited all visitors.
The order in Connecticut was issued after disability groups filed a complaint with the HHS Office for Civil Rights, stating that the visitor restrictions resulted in patients with disabilities being deprived “of their right to make informed decisions and provide informed consent,” and “being denied adequate and necessary medical treatment and care.”
The visitor restrictions have also subjected some patients with disabilities ‘to the unnecessary use of physical and chemical restraints,” the complaint states.
Roger Severino, who heads the Office for Civil Rights, told the Times that other states should use Connecticut’s order as a model.
“People should not be left to fend for themselves when they can be reasonably accommodated,” he said.
More articles on patient experience:
14 hospitals where patients felt staff respected their preferences most
Cleveland Clinic’s CXO: 4 important promises to patients
‘Trust in healthcare has never been more important’: UAB Medicine’s 10 things that should never happen at patient visits
