Such a solution was included in the draft act on primary health care prepared by the Ministry of Health and recently submitted to the Sejm. Pediatricians objected to this. As a consequence, Prime Minister Beata Szydło, after consultations with the Polish Pediatric Society, instructed the Ministry of Health to amend the bill. – Pediatricians will treat children and adolescents up to 18 years of age – the head of the government announced on Twitter.
Projekt przygotowany przez Ministerstwo Zdrowia zakłada, że w ramach podstawowej opieki zdrowotnej od 2025 r. pediatrzy będą mogli opiekować się dziećmi tylko w wieku do 7 lat. Wszystko wskazuje, że Ministerstwo Zdrowia przygotuje odpowiednią autopoprawkę. Lekarze rodzinni podkreślają jednak, że są przygotowani do opieki nad dzieckiem.
From baby to old man
– Family doctors look after patients throughout their lives – from infancy to old age. This is the idea and the heart of family medicine. We say jokingly that we take care of patients “from baby to old man” and I assure you that this is not just a slogan – explains the vice-president of the Zielona Góra Agreement associating primary care physicians, Wojciech Pacholicki. He adds that a family medicine specialist has the appropriate competences to provide comprehensive care for patients of all ages. The specialization program covers a wide range and issues from many fields of medicine. According to family doctors, pediatricians are prepared mainly to provide hospital services and should use their expert knowledge and skills for patients who require in-depth and costly diagnostics, specialist management and monitoring of complex and rare chronic diseases.
A child is not a small adult
The Polish Pediatric Society has no doubts: pediatricians must remain in primary care. Pediatricians do not question the competence of family doctors. However, they recall that a family doctor, gaining this specialization, spends several months in a pediatric ward in a hospital. Meanwhile, a doctor training in the field of paediatrics for five years. So there are many childhood diseases, the symptoms of which the family doctor did not even see, and which the pediatrician could treat during his education. Pediatrician Dr. Zdzisław Domagała, a consultant of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, emphasizes that only a specialist in the field of paediatrics guarantees appropriate care for a child up to 18 years of age. – You cannot be an omnibus in all areas of medicine. After many years of practice in this profession, I am completely convinced of it – he says. Pediatrician prof. Andrzej Radzikowski from the Department of Gastroenterology and Nutrition for Children at the Medical University of Warsaw believes that a well-prepared family doctor can deal with the basic problems of childhood medicine. However, she is opposed to any restriction of access to a pediatrician in primary care.
Do pediatry w kolejce lub za pieniądze?
It is estimated that approximately 30 doctors should work in primary health care. Meanwhile, there are approximately 12 family medicine specialists. This means that they are unable to meet their health needs. If the act entered into force in the form prepared by the ministry, if you wanted to seek the advice of a pediatrician, you would have to wait in line, like to see other specialists, or be treated privately. Such solutions are opposed by the Ombudsman for Children. In his opinion, a family doctor does not have sufficient knowledge and skills in the field of pediatrics to effectively treat a child. He emphasizes that the dynamics of childhood diseases is often different from its course in adults, and the current practice shows that sick children are often referred by family doctors to pediatric wards or for additional pediatric consultations.