ACN has an on-line petition to the European Commission asking for the institutionalization of 18 April as the European Patients' Rights Day. Sign in support!

Active Citizenship Network (ACN) together with a group of European citizens organisations in 2002 established a European Charter of Patients' Rights, which includes 14 patients' rights based on the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. In addition, the European Parliament and the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) both have stated their support for a European Charter if Patients' Rights.

ACN believes, the reinforcement of these rights will become effective only with the cooperation and commitment of all healthcare stakeholders in every EU country. It is thus essential to increase awareness regarding the importance of patients' rights and everyone's responsibilities in guaranteeing their respect. ACN believes that celebrating a European Patients' Rights Day every year on the same date 18 April  in all EU Member States would greatly contribute to this goal. It would be a common occasion to inform, discuss and take commitments to improve patients' rights in Europe

For that reason, last year ACN organized the 1^st European Patients' Rights Day celebration in the European Parliament while this year ACN together with organisations in 25 countries are organizing some 80 events to celebrate the 2nd European Patients' Rights Day on 18 April 2008 along with a European conference in Gorizia, Italy.

For the same reason, ACN is promoting this petition to call on the European Commission to institutionalise and recognize the 18^th of April as the official European Patients' Rights Day.

Join our efforts by signing this petition.

We, the undersign, together with Active Citizenship Network (ACN),  call on the European Commission to support the following initiative on patients' rights in Europe and institutionalize the 18^th of April as the official European Patients' Rights Day.

Click to SIGN PETITION !

If you want to help and collect signatures in support of the European Patients' Rights Day , you can download the petition.

 Word format ---  PDF format

After you can send the signatures to Active Citizenship Network, Via Flaminia 53, 00196 Rome, Italy.