La garantía institucional de la autonomía del paciente

ombudsmen in spain have received a large number of complaints concerning the patient's right to autonomy. these complaints regard the informed consent's document; the nature of the document he/she is required to sign; the precise definition of who should sign the document; cases in which consent cannot be obtained; and the limits of the right. generally, the complaints have arisen due to the authorities' ignorance of their obligations under the new requirements of the law, or to the unsuitability of the official structures and methods used to deal with the new legislation. these complaints have been lodged both by patients and family members and by health professionals. in response to these complaints, the ombudsmen have made a series of recommendations to the authorities in order to help guarantee the patient's right to autonomy. these recommendations have played an important role in its current configuration.