«Doctors do not want to test unless forced to test» [LETTERS TO MEDTvoiLokony]

Doctors urge patients with diseases other than COVID-19 to see a doctor. Meanwhile, patients complain that the clinics do not want to see them. “In my city, no family doctor is admitted to the National Health Fund, clinics are locked” – wrote Agnieszka in a letter to the editorial office of MedTvoiLokony. And it is not the only one – more concerned patients contacted us on this matter.

1. Agnieszka: In my city, no family doctor consults the NHF, the clinics are locked. Doctors don’t want to test
2. Reader in Łódź: they do not let patients into the clinic. A masked nurse shows up and says that you are not allowed to come in, only make calls
3. «There is no way to call this facility, why is there a telephone and you are in the registration office at all? (…) You cannot act like that, there will be more sick people, not only with COVID … »
4. In the matter of problems / lack of access to health services in primary health care clinics, patients write to the Patient’s Rights Ombudsman
5. For more up-to-date information on the coronavirus epidemic, visit the TvoiLokony home page

The coronavirus outbreak in Poland is accelerating. Currently, the daily record of cases is 9. The Minister of Health warns, however, that there may soon be as many as 622-15 thousand. daily. These numbers can be frightening. However, it is not just COVID-20 itself that is a problem. For some time, experts have warned that a further sharp increase in the number of infected will significantly worsen access to treatment for other patients.

From the letters we received to our editorial office, it can be concluded that these problems have already begun.

“Patients want visits – doctors do not want to see and test”

«People want to see doctors, but they don’t want to see them. They got stuck in POZ and only teleportation, teleportation … »- Agnieszka wrote to us. «In my city, no family doctor consults the National Health Fund, the clinics are locked. Doctors do not want to examine, unless a physical examination is forced – after a phone call » – he complains.

«Recently I was doing my son’s research. It takes three weeks for a normal blood donation to take place. Even for the famous teleportation you have to wait three days … And getting to the registration office is also a feat »- he describes.

1. We have too few infectious disease specialists in Poland. The Ministry of Health put the specialization on the priority list

The reader from the Lodzkie Voivodship speaks in the same vein, emphasizing that an open clinic is an exception, and only telepaths are available. «Patients are not admitted to the clinic. A masked nurse shows up and says that you are not allowed to come in, only make calls. But when, for example, a surgeon has a private office in this clinic, they let patients in, and not see the general practitioner “, he describes and concludes with sharp words:” What contact with a general practitioner looks like is embarrassing “.

Another of our readers was in an even worse situation. As he describes, it is impossible to reach one of the district clinics near Warsaw at all. «Does anyone out there know what the internal telephone network looks like, with redirection to a given position? There is no way to call this facility, why is there a telephone and a lady in registration, if you cannot get through there? » – gets upset. “You cannot act like this, there will be more patients, not only with COVID-19 …” – he emphasizes.

Complaints to the Patient Ombudsman

Regarding problems or even lack of access to health services in primary health care and outpatient specialist care clinics, disappointed patients write to the Patient Ombudsman. Bartłomiej Chmielowiec decided to verify these signals.

On October 1, a message was published on gov.pl presenting the results of inspections carried out in 24 primary health care clinics in one of the poviats of the Mazowieckie Voivodeship.

1. What to do when you notice the first symptoms of coronavirus? [WE EXPLAIN]

The employees of the Patient Ombudsman’s Office checked whether there were any problems with:

1.    registering to the doctor by telephone
2.    registering to the doctor in person or through a third party
3.    obtaining a personal visit
4. availability of drugs – prescription visits
5. home visits

Activities carried out by the spokesman showed that in 79 percent. checked facilities cannot be registered in person with a doctor (no possibility to enter the clinic), up to 12% outlets can not be reached, and up to 8 percent. contact is difficult. In 13 percent. facilities, despite telephone contact, it was not possible to obtain a health benefit, both on the day of notification and on the following days.

Clinics with irregularities must take “corrective action”. “If they are not implemented, appropriate steps will be taken in accordance with the Act on Patient Rights and the Patient’s Rights Ombudsman,” we read on the government website of the Patient’s Rights Ombudsman.

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