Patient Rights & Responsibilities

Your Rights and Responsibilities as a Patient at Middlesex Hospital


Middlesex Hospital, through its Medical Staff and other members of the health care team, serves the people of Middlesex County by providing high-quality healthcare. The Hospital is concerned not only with the medical problems of its patients, but also with preserving their individuality.

Patients have the right to good care and to be treated with dignity as individuals, with respect for their values and beliefs. Middlesex Hospital recognizes that certain patient groups, due to age (neonates, children, adolescents), language or cultural barriers, hearing impairment or mental disability, require assistance to understand and exercise their rights. Middlesex Hospital is committed to interpreting patient rights for these individuals in a manner that is sensitive to their age, need, biopsychosocial and/or mental status. The Board of Directors, the Administration, the Medical Staff, and other members of the health care team at Middlesex Hospital have adopted these rights and responsibilities

As a patient of Middlesex Hospital, you have the right to:

  • Appropriate, considerate and respectful care regardless of the source of payment.
  • Complete current information concerning your diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis in terms you can be reasonably expected to understand in order to participate in decisions regarding care.
  • Receive information necessary to give informed consent prior to the start of any procedure and/or treatment.
  • Receive free of charge, the appropriate interpreters, auxiliary aids, and services necessary to ensure effective communication.
  • Refuse treatment or to make an advance directive.
  • Consideration for your privacy.
  • Participate in ethical questions involving your care including withholding resuscitative services, foregoing or withdrawal of life sustaining treatment, and participation in investigational studies or clinical trials.
  • Assistance to help resolve conflicts between the rights of children and the rights of their parents/legal guardians.
  • Information about pain and pain relief measures; a concerned staff committed to pain prevention and management; expect that your reports of pain will be believed and responded to quickly; state-of-the-art pain management; and a dedicated pain management team.
  • Register a complaint regarding the quality of care received or Hospital services provided.
  • Assistance with accessing protective services.
  • Expect that all communications and records pertaining to your care should be available only to those directly concerned with such care, except as required by law or by your instructions.
  • A reasonable response for a request for services.
  • Expect reasonable continuity of care.
  • Examine and receive an explanation of your bill regardless of the source of payment.
  • Know what Hospital rules and regulations apply to your conduct as a patient.


As a Patient of Middlesex Hospital, you are responsible for:

  • Asking your doctor or nurse what to expect regarding pain, pain management, and pain relief measures; working with your doctor and nurse to develop a pain management plan; asking for pain relief when pain first begins; helping your doctor and nurse assess your pain; telling your doctor and nurse if your pain is not relieved; telling your doctor and nurse about any worries you have about taking pain medication.
  • Taking sensible precautions to keep healthy and to use the advice and information that has been made available for this purpose.
  • Safeguarding any valuables that may be kept at the bedside.
  • Actively participating in educational programs and teaching relevant to your condition/diagnosis as deemed appropriate by the professional caregiver(s).
  • Informing your physician and nurse of any medications you have brought to the Hospital and for answering their questions openly and honestly. Information about your past health history is an important part of current care and should be discussed with the doctor.
  • Arrive at appointments promptly or, if they must be canceled or postponed, notifying the Hospital as soon as possible.