(A) The department shall develop a system for documenting and addressing grievances concerning patient rights. Grievances concerning patient rights must be turned over to the Division of Quality Assurance-Standards, Advocacy, and Monitoring of the department for review. A copy of the written grievance must be forwarded to the Client Advocacy Program and the South Carolina Protection and Advocacy System for the Handicapped, Inc.
(B) The division shall promulgate procedures with time lines to process expeditiously the grievances. The procedures must be made known to patients.
(C) A person who wilfully causes, or conspires with or assists another to cause, the denial to a patient of rights accorded to him under this chapter, upon conviction, must be fined not more than one thousand dollars or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both. A person acting in good faith, either upon actual knowledge or information thought to be reliable, is exempt from the criminal provisions of this section.