Published 11.03.2026. | Tena Mur
According to media reports and information from the Croatian Association for the Promotion of Patients’ Rights, presented in a report by Croatian Radio-Television (HRT) on 4 September 2024, more than 300 reports or complaints have been filed by patients against doctors at the Osijek hospital. However, after analysing the available information, we have established that it is not clear to whom these complaints were addressed, who received them, or whether and how they were acted upon.
Our work on this case has further highlighted the weaknesses of the existing mechanisms for protecting patients and for handling complaints. This and similar cases of sexual violence in the healthcare system reveal serious structural failures – both in the area of prevention and protection from violence, and in the way healthcare institutions and other bodies receive, record, and process complaints about the conduct of their employees. As patients, we all have a legal right to file a complaint if we believe our rights have been violated in the provision of healthcare, and ultimately to be informed about the progress of that procedure. In this specific case, multiple sources have confirmed that complaints were indeed filed, yet it remains unclear who received them, to whom they were forwarded, and whether an appropriate procedure was initiated and carried out. The reporting system has proven to be insufficiently transparent and insufficiently accessible, which is why patients often do not know whom to contact or how to effectively protect their rights.
For this reason, we are continuing our investigation into the existing weaknesses in the patient complaint system, identifying shortcomings in transparency and effectiveness, and developing concrete recommendations for strengthening reporting mechanisms, institutional accountability, and the effective protection of the rights of all participants in the healthcare system.
Our goal is to ensure that every complaint is properly recorded, promptly forwarded to the competent authorities, and processed in accordance with clear and transparent procedures, with genuine institutional accountability.
The patient protection system must be clear, transparent, and above all focused on the safety, dignity, and protection of patients’ rights.
We thank the SOLIDARNA Foundation for its support.
“The project is supported by the SOLIDARNA Foundation through the Women’s Fund”
