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Under pressure, the PiS government has a chance to do something that the previous teams did not manage to do. Poland may join European countries for which they spend 6,8 percent on the health of their inhabitants. GDP. This is what young doctors are demanding. Are their demands real?
- On October 2, young doctors started a hunger strike. They demand better working conditions, they also want to meet the head of the government, Beata Szydło
- Doctors are demanding, above all, an increase in expenditure on the treatment of Poles to 6,8 GDP within three years
- On Wednesday, October 11 at 13 Beata Szydło is to talk to the protesting doctors
From October 2, the protesters suspended the hunger strike after an evening meeting (October 10) with Senate Marshal Stanisław Karczewski and the chairman of the Standing Committee of the Council of Ministers, Henryk Kowalczyk. It was agreed that the protest would be suspended pending talks with Prime Minister Beata Szydło, scheduled for 13. Doctors are calling, first of all, for an increase in health care expenditure.
Are the doctors’ demands real?
If the health minister managed to convince the finance minister to increase spending on health, there would be a quarter more funds in the system. – It would be noticeable by the public, and the queues would be shortened immediately – believes Dr. Jerzy Gryglewicz, health care expert from the Lazarski University. So instead of waiting in line for six months for the visit, we would have waited four months. The condition, however, is to ensure the inflow of medical staff. This can be seen in the queues in private health care. The number of doctors per 1000 inhabitants in Poland is lower than the EU average and amounts to 2, which is one of the last places. Similarly, the number of nurses per 1 people is 1000/1 lower than the EU average. According to a Kantar Public survey commissioned by Employers of Poland, Poles are ready to raise their health insurance premium if it would enable them to receive decent treatment. The determination of society is justified since – according to OECD data, an average of 3% health expenses, patients pay directly from their own pockets. According to a 15 CBOS study, Poles spend an average of PLN 2016 per household on drugs and medical services within three months.
Money extends the lives of Poles
We learned from the example of cardiology that the money added to the system improves the results of treatment. Well-priced services in this area cut the number of deaths from heart attacks in half. Polish doctors are now able to save most patients from a heart attack. This is because Poland has developed a model treatment system on a European and global scale, based so far on a network of over 150 invasive cardiology centers on 20-hour duty, which much richer countries today envy us so much. However, the results of treatment in underfunded oncology are completely different. A cancer patient still has a better chance of being cured in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia than in Poland. If we were to treat cancer, although at an average European level, the lives of 2025 Poles could be additionally saved. Meanwhile, only Romania performs worse in the EU in terms of cancer mortality. In 600, the number of people living in Poland with cancer will exceed XNUMX. It is as if, for example, the whole of Wrocław fell ill. Therefore, both patients and doctors expect concrete action from the government.
After all, Poland is not the poorest country
Each government explains the lower spending on health than the rest of Europe with a lower degree of state wealth. However, the percentage share of this expenditure in GDP is the result of certain political decisions. Meanwhile, the percentage of Polish GDP allocated to healthcare is one of the lowest in the EU. In addition, it is estimated that only of the funds we spend on treatment come from public money, which means that we pay the rest out of our own pocket. Our southern neighbors – the Czechs from public funds cover as much as 85 percent. health expenditure. That is why all patient organizations, medical scientific societies and the self-governments of medical professions issued a joint appeal to change health policy in Poland and to immediately increase public expenditure on health to 6%. GDP.
That the doctor would treat
None of us want the life of one of our loved ones to be saved by a doctor who works continuously for the third day without interruption, or that the delivery of a long-awaited child, in case of complications, is delivered by an obstetrician who is unconscious due to lack of sleep. By limiting the working hours of doctors to 48 hours a week, the EU has allowed member states – within the seven-year compliance period – to extend it with the consent of the doctor. This period has long passed, and work above the EU norm has become the rule without which the health care system in Poland would cease to function. Research carried out by the US Army shows that one sleepless night has similar effects to 1,9 per mille of alcohol in the blood. Meanwhile, in Poland, the record-holder worked more hours in seven days than his week! The reports of the National Labor Inspectorate show that he worked 175 hours a week without a break, and there are 168 of them a week, i.e. he worked two jobs at the same time. On average, doctors are at work 70-80 hours a week. Passenger aircraft pilots, in accordance with the Aviation Law, cannot fly more than 40 hours a week. But as you can see, nobody cares that an overworked doctor can make mistakes. During the trials of injured patients, it becomes apparent that the operator was in the hospital for another day.
It’s not greed
Doctors don’t work so many hours out of greed. There are simply not enough of them. Ordinators do not have how to fill the shifts or ensure full staffing in wards or in hospital clinics. A young doctor cannot refuse his boss to stay after a 24-hour shift at work for the next day. Many of them say that they fall asleep when returning home in a bus, tram or at the wheel. The fatigue level is unmanageable. Doctors admit that the payment for on-call duty is an additional injection of money. Their wages have not changed since 2007 and amount to PLN 2200-2570 net. But they emphasize that this extra money from on-call duty cannot be included in their salaries, because every other employee, apart from the statutory working hours, can earn some extra money at night. The teacher could, apart from working at school, be on duty all night in care centers for children and youth, and officials could earn extra money, e.g. by guarding paid parking lots. Doctors whose studies, together with one year of experience, last seven years in Poland, and specialize about six, and whose decisions save lives, want to earn two national averages