A law passed by parliament that requires doctors to give patients a diagnosis within four weeks is only being met half the time. According to a report, 12,000 people received their diagnosis outside of the required period, while the same number received theirs inside the time period.
A spokesperson for the patient advocacy group Danske Patienter (DP) called the results unacceptable.
“It is a big problem,” DP head Lars Engberg told Jyllands-Posten newspaper. “It’s not right that a law passed by parliament is not being lived up to.”
Danish hospital regions head Bent Hansen (S) acknowledged the problem, but said that things were getting better.
“We are not where we would like to be, but things are moving in the right direction,” Hansen told Jyllands-Posten.
Quick diagnosis or short commute?
Hansen said that some patients choose to wait for a diagnosis so they can be treated closer to where they live.
Nick Hækkerup (S), the health minister, said that patients need to be more aware of their right to a quicker diagnosis.
