Hospitals in Romania required to install panic buttons in each ward

State and private hospitals that provide inpatient services in Romania are required to install and maintain panic buttons in each ward designated for patients, according to a legislative project adopted by Parliament on Wednesday, September 24.

Panic buttons will be installed in locations accessible to patients, so they can be used to signal staff of a medical emergency or dangerous situation. Hospital staff, in turn, will be periodically trained regarding the use of the alert systems through simulations.

Additionally, all public and private healthcare units with beds that have anesthesia and intensive care sections, critical cardiac patient monitoring and advanced treatment units, or emergency reception, are required to install and maintain video surveillance systems in these areas. Video recordings will be stored for a minimum of 3 days and a maximum of 60 days and can be accessed exclusively by authorized personnel designated by the healthcare unit’s management committee.

Healthcare units will be required to inform patients and medical staff about the presence of video cameras by displaying visible notices at the entrance to these areas.

The initiative, backed by center-right deputies in the Save Romania Union (USR) party, comes after a young pregnant woman died in August 2023 at Botoșani Maternity Hospital after suffering for 7 hours without receiving care. The case sparked national outrage and led to the dismissal or fining of medical professionals at the hospital.

"In a normal country, there would have been no need for the project adopted today. If the National Authority for Quality Management in Health were a functional institution, we would already have panic buttons and video cameras in every emergency and ICU department. However, ANMCS accredits hospitals year after year without enforcing minimum patient safety standards, which is very serious. The project adopted today supports both patients and doctors," said USR deputy Emanuel Ungureanu.

"Alert buttons will also indicate the response time from the moment a patient is in need until the moment they are assisted. Unfortunately, we are in a situation where we have to do this by law," he added.

If deaths are registered out of medical negligence, the video recordings will be used by prosecutors.

(Photo source: Teodor Oroianu | Dreamstime.com)