Voting arrangements for hospital patients

Hospital patients had to be declared fit by their consul-tant doctor before leaving hospital to vote in the referendum, the government said yesterday.

This would be indicated in the patient’s history file, to-gether with the need for that particular person to go by ambulance or another form of transport.

The Health Department was offering transport to the polling stations and back. However, patients could also make arrangements with their relatives.

In this case, relatives had to request permission in writing to the hospital administrator to take a patient out to vote. Such permit had to be shown on the day of the referendum to the hospital’s security officer to be able to access the hospital and then also to the official in charge of the transport of patients.

If patients opted to vote despite their doctor’s advice to the contrary, they would have to sign a document shouldering responsibility for their decision. Any patient who did so could use any form of transport he wishes.

Arrangements were under way to enable patients to leave their voting document in the possession of the hospital authorities securely, the government said.

On the day of the referendum, visiting hours, outpatient services and medicine distribution from outpatients will not be affected.