"Zhoghovurd" daily writes:
"On February 3 of this year, two citizens were taken to the hospital by ambulance, but they were not hospitalized. Official justification: alcohol influence. And the defender of human rights, instead of a legal assessment, limits himself to sending letters. In response to the inquiry of "Zhoghovurd" daily newspaper, the RA Human Rights Defender's Office informed that the incident recorded in Yerevan "Armenia" Medical Center was investigated after our application.
Meanwhile, the fact of having consumed alcohol in itself cannot be a legal basis for refusing medical care, especially in the case of transportation by ambulance. HRD reported that an explanation was requested from the medical center, the received information was taken into account, and a letter was sent to the RA Ministry of Health regarding the issue. The ministry's response is now awaited. Thus, the response of the ombudsman at this stage was limited to correspondence.
However, there is still no clear position on this public-sounding issue, whether the right to health care, the availability of urgent medical care, or whether there is discriminatory treatment or not, has been violated.
It is actually recorded that the citizens who consumed alcohol were not provided with hospital medical care. And the Institute of Human Rights, which should act as an independent guarantor of human rights protection, is limited to mediated communication at this stage. But the public expectation from the ombudsman is certainly not correspondence.
Details in today's issue of "Zhoghovurd" daily.
