You must not be discriminated against when receiving healthcare. The prohibition of discrimination applies equally to state and municipal, as well as private medical institutions and service providers.
Healthcare and medical services may be provided by state or municipal health care institutions, family doctors or private medical practices. All healthcare service providers are under a duty not to discriminate against you because of who you are. This applies to professional medical staff (doctors or nurses), as well as administrative staff (receptionists), ambulance drivers, clinic managers and other personnel employed in healthcare.
Discrimination in healthcare may include the refusal to accept you as a patient, harassing you by using abusive, derogatory language or providing lower quality medical care services.
example If all younger patients receive priority treatment for no apparent reason, while older patients are required to wait in queue for a much longer period, it may violate the prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of age.
Georgian Legislation explicitly prohibits discrimination on the grounds of sex or gender, race or ethnic origin, religion or belief, age, disability and other grounds in healthcare. In addition, there is a special article in the Law on Patient Rights that prohibits discrimination against patients on the grounds of sex or gender, ethnic or racial origin, religion or belief, disability, age, disease, sexual orientation and other grounds.
What human rights violation may there be?
The prohibition of discrimination
The prohibition of discrimination may have been violated if you have been denied medical care or you have received medical services of poor quality only because you are of a certain race, age, nationality or possess other characteristics that are prohibited grounds of discrimination.
Right to health and prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment
If you are unable to access medical care or receive poor quality medical services, it may lead to a violation of your right to health. In the most serious cases, it may lead to a violation of the prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment or even torture.
Right to life
If a person died because he/she did receive the necessary medical care or inadequate medical care was provided, it may have been a violation of their right to life.
How to complain
If you believe that you may have been discriminated against by your employer, you may file a complaint to the Labor Inspection of the State of Georgia, the Department of Equality of the Public Defender of Georgia and/or National Labour Inspectorate or to the court of general jurisdiction.
Read more about how to complain.