People Living with HIV Discriminated by the Health Care System
People living with HIV and AIDS often face refusal during their non-HIV-related health care, and are directed to the out-patient HIV-unit of Szent László Hospital, the only hospital in Hungary to provide ARV-treatment and care for PLWHIV.
In the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union's opinion, the rights of PLWHIV are often violated when using health care services. Refusing their treatment or directing them to the out-patient HIV-unit of Szent László Hospital causes undue delay in their care, unnecessarily overloads the doctors and the nurses of the HIV-department, and in certain cases violates their right to the highest attainable physical and mental health.
When observing basic hygienic rules in hospitals, HIV-infection is not transmittable, it endangers neither the staff providing health care nor fellow patients, hence the refusal of treatment and care of patients is unjustified.
On November 9, 2011, we managed to take a photo of the following note in the Central Stomatology Institute: "Dental care of patients infected with HIV or AIDS-patients is solely provided in the clinic of the Szent László
Hospital."
It is the HCLU's opinion that the Constitutional rights of PLWHA are violated; hence the HCLU turns to the Parliamentary Commissioner's Office of Hungary and the Equal Treatment Authority.