Contents
From April 1, 2022, the National Health Fund changes the financing of covid services. Treatment of patients with COVID-19 will be settled under the existing agreements of the institutions with the National Health Fund. There will be no longer any temporary hospitals or covid wards appointed by voivodes. The covid restrictions are also lifted. “This is premature action,” experts note.
- From March 28, you do not need to wear masks, and from April 1, the rules for financing COVID-19 treatment will change
- Temporary hospitals and covid wards are disappearing from the map. There will also be no special cash allowances for medics
- Does this mean that the pandemic in Poland is over? Experts warn that it is too early for such actions
- Time will tell how the virus will behave and how the epidemiological situation in the world develops, specialists argue
- Check your health. Just answer these questions
- More information can be found on the TvoiLokony home page
The Minister of Health, Adam Niedzielski, decided to end the special mode of financing some of the covid benefits from the COVID-19 Counteracting Fund. This action is the result of the decreasing number of coronavirus patients.
According to MedTvoiLokony, Dr. n.med. Jerzy Friediger, director of the Specialist Hospital. S. Żeromski SP ZOZ in Krakow and a member of the presidium of the Supreme Medical Council, the decision of the Minister of Health to end the special financing mode means that the benefits related to COVID-19 treatment will be settled as other medical services – pneumonia, such as pneumonia, respiratory failure, such as respiratory failure etc. – In some cases it will be more and in others less beneficial – he sums up.
- We recommend: How is COVID-19 sick now? Your doctor will look for these symptoms
Further part below the video.
Temporary hospitals without funding
On April 1 this year. financing of temporary hospitals and special covid wards will end – The Ministry of Health decided that COVID-19 patients can be treated according to standard rules, as is the case with other patients. – The end of financing of temporary hospitals de facto means their liquidation, which was to be expected – explains Dr. Jerzy Friediger. – We don’t know what to do with these hospitals.
MedTvoiLokony asked dr. Jerzy Friediger, or not, it would be better to use the facilities (almost PLN 591 million was spent on them) to treat refugees from Ukraine instead of closing them. – Fortunately, the number of patients from Ukraine is not so large that it would be necessary to create separate hospitals for them – says Dr. Friediger. – These would not be hospitals for “one disease”, therefore it would be necessary to recruit appropriately qualified staff. In my opinion, it would be much more correct to increase the number of places in existing hospitals and to strengthen the wards with staff from Ukraine.
Permanent covid troops should be available
Temporary hospitals and covid wards are established at the request of voivodes. In the opinion of experts, the closing of temporary hospitals should be consistent with the decisions of voivodes, so that there is no situation in which, for example, hospital X is still obliged by the voivode to run a covid ward, but the beds are no longer financed from the COVID-19 Counteracting Fund.
As experts note, in each voivodeship there should be permanent covid wards in selected multi-profile hospitals, which will still be responsible for protecting patients in the event of a pandemic becoming endemic with the development of periodic outbreaks.
- Read: COVID-19 Will Become Endemic. What does it mean?
It should be taken into account that treating patients with COVID-19 in every hospital will disrupt the operation of the facility – unprepared for isolating these patients.
NHF: vaccinations and pocovid rehabilitation will still be financed
As the National Health Fund assures, vaccinations and postovid rehabilitation will continue to be financed from the special COVID-19 Counteracting Fund. Thus, the National Health Fund will still pay about PLN 19 for vaccination against COVID-61. War refugees from Ukraine who crossed the border with Poland after February 24 this year also have the right to a vaccine.
Postovid rehabilitation (inpatient and spa, outpatient and home) will also continue to be financed.
- The editorial board recommends: What does rehabilitation after COVID-19 look like? “The healers come in wheelchairs, they go out on their own feet”
Check your health by completing a comprehensive research package for convalescents
Covid additions are ending
Only until the end of March this year, it will be possible to pay special covid supplements for medics for their work in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. So far, almost PLN 9,3 billion of allowances have been paid for work on COVID-19. 100% covid supplement remuneration (effective November 1, 2021) was due to persons who:
- practiced medical profession;
- participated in providing health services and had direct contact with patients with suspected and infected with SARS-CoV-2 virus;
- worked in departments where the medical facility provides beds for patients with suspected and confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection (the so-called level II covid protection).
The government cancels covid restrictions
On March 28, epidemic restrictions were canceled – the obligation to wear masks in closed public spaces has been abolished, and there is no isolation and quarantine supervised by the Sanepid. Masks must only be put on in hospitals and clinics. However, the Minister of Health recommends wearing masks in places of large crowds.
- See also: Where should we still wear masks?
Minister of Health Adam Niedzielski and the head of the National Institute of Public Health – National Institute of Hygiene prof. Grzegorz Juszczyk argue that the increases in infections, hospitalization and deaths no longer threaten us. As they assure, we are also well protected, because antibodies after vaccination or disease have 90-95 percent. society.
“Canceling” the COVID-19 pandemic is premature
According to specialists, “canceling” the COVID-19 pandemic is premature. Just because the fifth wave is ending does not mean the end of the pandemic. Time will tell how the virus will behave and how the epidemiological situation in the world develops, specialists argue.
Dr. Jerzy Friediger is of a similar opinion: “Canceling” the COVID-19 pandemic from time to time is not the right thing to do, he says. As he notes, in such a situation, any restrictions aimed at limiting the spread of the virus disappear. – It seems a bit early for that – there are still many infections. Let’s not forget that 2 million people of unknown epidemic status came to Poland (war refugees from Ukraine – editor’s note) – summarizes Dr. Jerzy Friediger.
The COVID-19 advisory team at the President of the Polish Academy of Sciences appealed to the government, asking for the withdrawal of the idea of ending epidemic restrictions. The Polish Academy of Sciences draws attention to the need for intensive promotion of vaccination against COVID-19, which will protect both those fleeing the war in Ukraine and those who help them.
As emphasized in their statement by the members of the COVID-19 advisory team to the president of the Polish Academy of Sciences, in Poland every day several thousand new infections are diagnosed with the virus and almost 200 deaths are recorded. These data, per million inhabitants, place Poland in the forefront of the world.
Only 30 percent. the population of adult Poles is vaccinated with the so-called booster, i.e. the third booster dose – experts note, pointing out that the COVID-19 pandemic is not over in Ukraine – before the outbreak of the armed conflict with Our Country, over 20 infections and about 240 deaths per day were recorded in Ukraine.
As they indicate, having a humanitarian and refugee crisis, it becomes important to provide the best protection against diseases, including COVID-19. «Many people help and will help refugees from Ukraine by working in direct contact with large groups of people. It is very important that both the helpers and the refugees themselves are vaccinated »- they explain. At the same time, they emphasize that it is important to provide helpers and refugees with access to vaccinations, masks and disinfectants.
This may interest you:
- More people with influenza in Poland than with COVID-19. Doctors admonish
- A controversial doctor’s entry. “If you didn’t have COVID-19, you have no friends”
- Forgotten diseases are coming back to Poland. The doctor warns: epidemics are ahead