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In the first half of this year, 14 thousand people died in Poland. people more than in the same period last year. According to the cardiologist, prof. Paweł Buszman, include cost-cutting effect by ministries on interventional cardiology. Medonet hopes that the money saved will be spent on prevention and rehabilitation of people after a heart attack. Because the truth is that although we have world-class cardiology, a year after stenting or other cardiological surgery in Poland, many more people die than in other countries. Why? Because Poles do not change their habits and, for example, continue to smoke cigarettes, abuse alcohol, do not play sports and eat badly.
- From October 1, the rules of treating people with the so-called pre-infarction condition. Now the patient will not go to a specialist right away, but will have to queue up
- According to cardiologists, the new rules will cause the number of deaths from heart disease to start rising again
- The Ministry of Health reassures that the change in regulations will be compensated by additional money for the purchase of medical equipment and apparatus
In the last 12 months, the National Health Fund has reduced funding for the treatment of emergency life-threatening conditions in cardiology by nearly 40 percent. From October 1 this year. The unlimited funding for the treatment of patients with acute coronary syndrome in the form of unstable angina has also been abolished, which will reduce the availability of life-saving procedures. During the work on the act on the network of hospitals, the postulates of the cardiological community to create a separate cardiovascular level in the network were not taken into account. – In this context, it is difficult not to mention the recorded increase in the number of deaths in Poland by 14, which is a result not recorded in our country even in the 80s – cardiologists warn.
Smog and lack of money
Prof. Paweł Buszman, co-founder and president of the network of clinics that comprehensively treat cardiovascular diseases, American Heart of Poland, believes that the increase in the number of deaths is due to the deterioration in financing of cardiological treatment, and thus its lower availability and smog. – Research confirms that smog increases the ailments related to heart and vascular diseases – he explains. He adds that the increased mortality applies to people of productive age before 65 years of age and almost eliminates the positive demographic effect caused by the government’s 500 plus program, which cost the country’s budget several billion zlotys. Deputy Minister of Health, Marcin Czech, replies that the higher mortality is not only caused by cardiovascular diseases. In addition, it reminds that – in accordance with the so-called special act – additional PLN 281,8 million will be allocated to the health care system, incl. for the purchase of medical equipment and apparatus.
Although we were good at something
Interventional cardiology is the greatest success of Polish medicine. And when we compare, for example, the effects of cancer treatment in Poland with the rest of Europe, we are scandalous. Even the Czechs and Slovaks are better than us in this field. However, if we look at the treatment of heart diseases, it turns out that our interventional cardiology is one of the best in Europe, and even in the world. A heart attack attacks Poles twice as often as residents of other EU countries. However, within a year of his speech, no more of us die than the Germans or the British. This is an undoubted success of Polish cardiologists. No country in Central or Eastern Europe has achieved such a spectacular improvement in the treatment of heart attacks. We managed to reduce the mortality by 50 percent.
How have we worked for this success?
It was possible thanks to the increased financing of the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. There is a network of interventional cardiology measures in Poland with trained personnel and appropriate equipment. Thanks to this, a patient with a heart attack in any region of Poland can quickly go to a facility where angioplasty will be performed, i.e. a procedure to unblock a closed vessel leading blood to the heart. This resulted in a halving of hospital mortality due to myocardial infarction and a threefold reduction in the number of deaths due to coronary artery disease, a reduction in the degree of cardiac disability and an improvement in the quality of life of patients after a heart attack and, most importantly, an increase in the average life expectancy of Poles.
Treatment limits
The National Health Fund has abolished the unlimited treatment of unstable angina, which is a life-threatening condition requiring urgent diagnosis and treatment. Removing it from unlimited-funded services will extend the queues of patients waiting for scheduled diagnostics and treatment in cardiology departments. According to cardiologists, the introduction of limits for the treatment of pre-infarction conditions, another reduction in the valuation of cardiological procedures this year, and the introduction of a hospital network without taking into account the cardiovascular level – is reversing the development of Polish cardiology by several years. – Patients will die because the availability and quality of services provided by hospitals will decrease. I am not just talking about private entities, because the changes will affect all participants of the system. Academic, provincial and municipal hospitals – including tens of thousands of patients – will suffer – says the co-founder of the Polish-American Heart Clinics.
The hearts of Poles
Coronary artery disease is responsible for the largest number of deaths in Poland and is the leading cause of heart failure. Meanwhile, the cuts in expenditure on cardiology – according to specialists in this field – will reverse the favorable epidemiological trends observed in recent years, with a renewed increase in mortality and disability due to cardiovascular diseases in Poland. Further deepening of this phenomenon, combined with the forecasted increase in the demand for cardiological treatment by about 20%. in the next 10 years, it may lead to a catastrophe that will not be able to prevent even the announced increase in health care spending in our country in the coming years.