About us
The Patient hub is a project of the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic financed from European Economic Area and Norway Grants for 2014–2021.
FOR WHOM IS THE CLUB?
The Patient hub is a project designed for patient organisations, patients, the general public, and anyone who is interested in the sphere of health.
For patient organisations and patients, it is a space for work, education, and sharing best practices. For more, see the section “I am a patient organisation or its member”.
For the general public, the hub organises diverse events in cooperation with patient and other organisations. For more, see the section “I am a member of the public”.
For everyone who wants to actively engage in assisting patients or supporting awareness in the sphere of health, it provides open space for cooperation, joint projects, and events. For more, see the section “I am a partner”.
WHAT ARE PATIENT ORGANISATIONS?
These are non-profit organisations of patients and their loved ones. Most of them were established by patients themselves or their family members. They have grown from a strong human story in which an illness or handicap has intervened. There are about a hundred such organisations in the Czech Republic, nearly all of which are devoted to a specific area of medicine. They represent the interests of other patients in the healthcare system and draw attention to the problems that are brought by life with the given diagnosis.
Patient organisations provide information and advice, organise meetings, physiotherapy, residential stays for patients, organise public campaigns, and promote the interests of their members. Their role is irreplaceable.
WHY VISIT THE HUB?
The Patient hub is a project for supporting patient organisations, a space for the development, cooperation, and meeting of patients, experts, and the public in the sphere of health. The Patient hub’s key activities include: operation of a shared working and community space in the Vršovice neighbourhood in Prague, organisation of a comprehensive educational programme, administration of an interactive web portal, and organisation of awareness events for the public.
The Patient hub provides a comprehensive and up-to-date educational programme in areas that patient organisations need for their sustainable development and the fulfilment of their mission. You can attend them regularly or pick and choose, be present in person or watch them on-line.
The topics of courses, workshops, and mentoring consultations include the management and professionalisation of a patient organisation (managing a team, working with volunteers, financial management, fundraising, legal and accounting basics, public and media communication, and others), the healthcare system in the Czech Republic (system of prices and reimbursements, health insurance, system of care provision, rights and obligations of patients), and advocacy (patient representation, role of a patient organisation, communication, and negotiation).
THE HUB IN A NUTSHELL
What is a hub?
A few years ago, few people knew how to understand the word. Today, there are relatively quite a few hubs in the Czech Republic and the English word has been essentially taken over. Translated into Czech, it means: a centre of activities, linking of activities. It is pronounced [hʌb]. In the defence of its use in Czech, let us state that this short term matches the relatively long word “pacientský” better than its Czech equivalents, is succinct, and original. And because The Patient hub project has been officially registered under this name, it would be a shame to let it fall into disuse.
The Hub’s motto: under one roof.
One slogan – two meanings. The first can be deduced easily. All stakeholders meet under the Hub’s single roof: patient organisations, patients, the public, and professional partners. The other meaning involves the creation of a “roof”, which in our concept means the linking of several patient organisations under a single umbrella organisation that overarches them. There is no national coalition in the Czech Republic to coordinate the work of patient organisations, enhancing their negotiating positions with other stakeholders in the healthcare sector. And because The Patient hub project under the leadership of the Ministry of Health will end on 31 December 2023, a successor needs to be found to take over the baton and carry on with the hub’s activities. Is there a better place to look than among patient organisations? Their national roof would be an ideal continuator.
Our logo. Get to know each other, please.
We used the main part of the work of the Patient hub when creating the logo. It is a physical and virtual space where people get educated, work, meet, network, share their expertise, and do many other things. We looked for something that links all those activities.
No base, whether it be a household or an office, can do without a table.
We found inspiration in that piece of furniture and this is the result:
We linked this graphic element
with the project’s name, The Patient hub,
and we got our logo.
We also use a version featuring our slogan.
