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Another branch of child psychiatry in Poland will be closed. This time it is about the facility in Gniezno. The local hospital is not able to find doctors willing to work with children, writes Gazeta Wyborcza.
- The children’s psychiatry ward in hospitals in Gniezno will be closed in July
- At the moment, two part-time doctors work in the 30-bed ward
- The ward manager after three years of extremely hard work was so burned out that she was no longer able to heal patients — says the hospital director
- You can find more such information on the TvoiLokony home page
Children’s psychiatry department in Gniezno to be closed
For several months, the psychiatric hospital in Gniezno has not been able to find doctors to work in the children’s ward, so it will be closed in the summer — writes «Gazeta Wyborcza Poznań».
At the end of last year, the head of the children’s psychiatry department resigned. — After three years of extremely hard work, she was so burned out that she was no longer able to heal patients — says in an interview with GW Marek Czaplicki, director of “Dziekanka”, a psychiatric hospital in Gniezno.
At the moment, there are only two psychiatrists working in the ward, a part-time doctor and a conditionally doctor until the end of July. And for the 30-bed ward to continue to function, at least two more doctors are needed. However, no one reacted to the job offers. The hospital offered, among others living on the premises of the hospital and approx. PLN 100 per hour of work.
Due to the shortage of staff, the facility announced that the children’s ward would be closed in July.
A tragic situation throughout Poland
According to the Central Register of Doctors of the Supreme Medical Chamber, there are over 500 psychiatrists for children and adolescents in Poland, but not all of them work in their specialization. In fact, there are fewer doctors than the statistics show.
— Working in child psychiatry is a huge challenge, it is one of the most difficult departments — says Czaplicki. — It happens that ambulances bring three children a day with a mental breakdown or after a suicide attempt. The doctor has to work not only with such a child, but also with his family, school and friends.
At the moment, children and adolescents in Wielkopolska can undergo hospital treatment only in two psychiatric centers — in the “Dziekanka” and in the clinical hospital. Karol Jonscher in Poznań. Both are overcrowded. Children wait up to six months for planned treatment in Gniezno.
— Instead of closing a branch, we should open more. The covid restriction, isolation, and lack of contact with peers had a dramatic effect on many of our patients. The war in Ukraine only worsens this situation — Czaplicki points out.
As the director emphasizes, young doctors are not interested in working in the ward, and the experienced ones go to other centers, mainly private ones.
The situation in child psychiatry worsens with each passing year. The reason is the progressive staff shortages and continuous under-financing. From time to time, information about the closure of new wards or clinics appears, or new patients stop being admitted.
Only in recent weeks the media reported on the problems of facilities in Gdańsk, Łańcut (the only such center in Podkarpacie) and Warsaw (the clinic is closed in Ursynów).
— The situation with Polish child psychiatry is tragic. We have a significant shortage of specialists and a clear trend pointing to a decreasing number of people willing to work in the public sector — Artur Drobniak, Vice President of the Supreme Medical Council, said last year in an interview with Medonet.
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