This year, the budget for orthopedic equipment is PLN 575 million – reminds the Ministry of Health. In the opinion of representatives of disabled organizations, this is not enough.
The amount to be spent this year on orthopedic equipment is comparable to that spent last year, said Deputy Health Minister Marek Twardowski at the meeting of the parliamentary team for disabled people.
Representatives of non-governmental organizations indicated that last year the budget entered PLN 588 million. They also emphasized that it was necessary to amend the regulation on rehabilitation and orthopedic equipment and auxiliaries and to include modern equipment.
The chairman of the Polish Deaf-Blind Aid Society, Grzegorz Kozłowski, noted that often small amounts are spent on co-financing equipment for many people. Is it about supporting as many people as possible or is it effective? – He was asking. He called for higher amounts to be allocated to the financing of equipment, which, as he said, many deaf people simply cannot afford.
Tomasz Biduś from the Active Rehabilitation Foundation pointed out that hospitals are not provided with anti-bedsore mattresses and pillows. He noted that hospitals often do not have adequate equipment, and many patients cannot afford to buy it. This is the situation for patients with spinal cord injury, he said.
Małgorzata Pacholec from the Polish Association of the Blind said that a cane for blind people, should it be broken or damaged, should be available free of charge. This is the case in the countries of the European Union. In Poland, it can be obtained once every two years and costs PLN 40 – she said. She noted that the union’s postulates in the regulations regarding equipment for the disabled are not taken into account.
We find out that everyone has good intentions and that the duvet is too short, so there is not enough money, but it cannot go on like this – she said.
In addition to money from the budget for orthopedic and rehabilitation equipment and auxiliary resources, funds from the State Fund for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled are also allocated. In 2009, it was PLN 131 million. This year it is to be a comparable amount. As the vice-president of PFRON Maciej Szykuła said, the funds have already been allocated by an algorithm for voivodship and poviat self-governments. (PAP)