The pandemic has exposed many years of neglect in Polish cancer centers. Now the system is collapsing, as oncologists from the University Hospital have said loudly. Their appeal did not bring any declarations. In an interview with Medonet, Prof. Piotr Wysocki, head of the Clinical Oncology Department of the University Hospital in Krakow.
- 2021 brings an accumulation of cancer patients. This makes the entire system in Poland at the limit of its efficiency. “We have been on the brink for a long time” – admits prof. Wysocki
- The problem is so complex that it cannot be fixed quickly. Prof. Wysocki says what the Polish Order would have to assume in the field of oncology so that the situation would not repeat itself
- Read the first part of the interview with prof. Piotr Wysocki
- More information can be found on the Onet homepage.
Agnieszka Mazur-Puchała, Medonet: We learned last week that oncology in Poland is “on the verge”. After this conference, anyone spoke up or offered help?
Prof. Piotr Wysocki, head of the Clinical Oncology Department of the University Hospital in Krakow: We do not have any concrete answers from the decision makers. There is, however, understanding on the part of patients. Greater understanding in terms of waiting for consultations or administration of chemotherapy. But no significant declarations are heard. However, there is also no easy way to solve this situation. It is not even a matter of “adding” money, because such a solution will surely not change anything in a short time. Now it’s not about money anymore. There is no staff, no place to look after such a large group of patients.
I cannot force doctors to work 10 hours a day, because they already work much longer than the statutory working time. In addition, oncologists also have their mental capacity. Contact with cancer patients is not the easiest thing to do, it requires a good mental condition. We have contact with tragedies and various difficult situations. All over the world, an oncologist cannot consult more than 8-10 patients a day, 2-3 times a week, and in Poland the reality is that a doctor consults 4-5 times more patients every day. Unfortunately, this situation leads to burnout syndrome, which means that oncologists are increasingly considering leaving the profession or retiring earlier. There are even specialists in clinical oncology who have started to deal only with aesthetic medicine. It wrecks the whole system.
Oncology has a multifaceted problem resulting from years of neglect. And it cannot be easily fixed. And unfortunately, ultimately, the patient is the most affected.
So nothing can be done? Can you just watch the system collapse?
At the moment, we hope and look forward to working with patient organizations that have their resources, volunteers, and psychologists. They help us in some way to take care of the sick, not in the strict sense of medical care. But all this takes place outside the system and is based on good will, on people devoting their free time.
In a normally functioning health care system, the situation we are facing now would simply be an increase in the burden on doctors, nurses and other staff who have so far worked in decent conditions. And in Poland, doctors worked for years for 2 or 3 jobs, they had 10-15 shifts a month. We have been on the brink for a long time. In such a situation, a small breeze may push into the abyss, not the huge wave that is hitting us at the moment.
Let’s make a wishful thinking. Oncology is to have a special place in the Polish Lada. Changes for the better are announced. What would have to be included in this program to prevent Polish oncology from being on the brink of collapse again in another difficult situation?
Firstly, improving health financing should not be delayed. The declarations are that the premium will be increased from next year, and it will be 7 percent. GDP will not start functioning until 2027. Why is it so late? After all, it could potentially grow from year to year and pay off.
The second issue is training the appropriate staff. The studies last six years, then there is also a period of postgraduate training. 10 – 12 years before becoming an oncologist. This specialization is deficient because it is not one that encourages. It is difficult to talk about private oncology clinics if treatment is carried out only in hospitals, with the use of expensive therapies. You have to find a way to convince young people to choose a cancer specialization.
Another issue is the change in working conditions. When you look at how cancer patients are treated, you see dozens of people in narrow, stuffy corridors. Patients who are not healthy. We are dramatically behind when it comes to infrastructure. Even if there are funds, and these are huge amounts of money, we will have to wait a long time to improve these conditions.
The most important goal in oncology is that we can heal as many patients as possible. The key is that the treatment can be finally terminated within a few months of the start of diagnosis and that patients never have contact with oncology again, except for periodic check-ups. But for this to be realistic, more emphasis is needed on prevention – a healthy lifestyle and screening tests, as well as quick and wide access to modern diagnostics and surgical treatment.
As you can see, there is no simple answer to this question. Generally, however, the point is for someone to have a specific vision and simply start to implement it consistently, with adequate financing provided.
Also read:
- Not only Kadcyla. Cancer drugs have quietly disappeared from the list
- More and more Polish women die of breast cancer. Money from the government is not helping
- Poland: more and more malignant tumors
- Doctors remember the famous oncologist. “Unimaginable, we are in powder”
- Can Early Breast Cancer Be Cured? Explains the oncologist
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