After hearing about a guardianship filed on behalf of a 15-year-old teenager who suffered from anxiety and depression and who for this reason took her own life, the Second Review Chamber of the Constitutional Court concluded that the EPS and the prepaid medicine entities that the minor is linked violated the rights to health and life, given that continuity in the provision of the service required was not guaranteed.
The teenager’s mother requested protection because, despite having hired a prepaid medical entity to care for her daughter’s health condition, she did not receive the corresponding services. For her part, the insurer argued that she was not obliged to provide said assistance, relying on the exoneration clauses stipulated in the policy signed.
Although the teenager was being treated in a specialized mental health center belonging to the service network of the prepaid medicine entity, she was transferred to another medical center associated with the EPS to which she was affiliated, where she was hospitalized. In this situationthe mother requested protection, arguing that the continuity of the treatments previously started had been abruptly interrupted.
In the first instance, protection for the minor was denied, and in the second instance, guardianship was declared inadmissible. During the processing of the action, before it came to review by the Constitutional Court, the teenager took her own life. Faced with this tragic event, the Court confirmed the existence of consummated damage and decided to rule on the merits, reproaching the fact that both the EPS and the prepaid medicine entity refused to cover the treatment that had already begun, thus ignoring the importance of an intervention. timely and continuous for the evolution in the diagnosis and treatment of the young woman.
For the Seventh Review Chamber, it was clear that the provision of health services in favor of the adolescent should not be subject to financial or contractual situations that could interfere with the continuity of the treatment provided by the doctors of the first institution where she was admitted.
The Court reiterated that the right to mental health is an inalienable guarantee, which includes access to clinical care in a timely, continuous and effective manner, without the existence of administrative or bureaucratic barriers imposed by the responsible entities. In the case of children and adolescents, this situation takes on a special connotation, given that they are subjects of special constitutional protection.
In this context, jurisprudence has indicated that the EPS and the entities that offer additional health plans must ensure a higher level of provision when those who claim the service belong to this population group, since any delay or denial in the provision can negatively affect irreversibly their medical condition and their relational processes with their environment.
Court reaffirms comprehensive protection for adolescents with mental disorders
The Court also highlighted that patients with mental illnesses, such as anxiety and depression disorders, are in a state of manifest weakness due to the characteristics of these pathologies. These affect multiple aspects of the lives of those who suffer from them, prevent the normal performance of daily activities such as study or work, and represent a risk to life, as they can be the cause of suicide.
In terms of mental health, the entities in charge of guaranteeing medical services must assume a higher level of responsibility with children and adolescents, ensuring the provision of the service promptly, continuity, effectiveness and efficiency, without allowing any economic obstacles. or administrative.
Regarding agreements with prepaid medicine entities, the Chamber indicated that the celebration and execution of these contracts must observe the constitutional rules and principles that seek to safeguard the right to health with a level of reinforced protection in the case of children, girls and adolescents.
Due to the above, the EPS and the prepaid medicine entity were ordered to guarantee, from now on, the timely provision of the physical and mental health services and technologies required by children and adolescents, and to refrain from imposing administrative barriers that hinder the continuity of treatment, especially in relation to mental health.
Finally, the trial judges were warned about the duty to comprehensively assess the constitutional conflicts submitted to their consideration, especially when they involve the rights of children and adolescents with mental health problems.
