The Croatian Association for Patient Rights sent an open letter to Health Minister Vili Beros on Tuesday proposing cooperation and free assistance to resolve accumulated problems in healthcare, and calling for the law governing the protection of patient rights to be amended.

The association said it is aware that it is difficult to run healthcare and resolve accumulated problems, but questioned why the minister has refused the association’s help, which it wants to provide completely free of charge, on a volunteer basis with international knowledge, law, medicine, forensics and diplomacy.

The association noted that due to problems and difficulties in healthcare, patients are unfortunately dying, and that should not be the case.

The association believes that the time has come for the law on the protection of patient rights to be amended so that patients and healthcare professionals are satisfied, and not for mere cosmetic reforms to be made which, in the association’s opinion, are “based on political partnership and corruption.”

It is poor communication and politics in healthcare that is the source of all the problems, rather than finances, which is always used as an excuse, the association said.

The association said it has connections around the world and added that “health ministers from Western Europe, whose healthcare services we envy, listen to us, why do you think you do not need our help?”

“It’s not a shame to ask for advice. It is a shame to pretend to know everything, while people are dying in the meantime. It is a shame that some doctors do not want to refer patients for treatment outside of Croatia when they don’t know how to treat them, because they do not want to admit that they do not know something even at the cost of human life,” the association said, adding that it hopes for a quick response from the Health Minister.