Polish health care is struggling with many problems. This was the case before the coronavirus pandemic. What is the biggest challenge, what actions one can not wait with anymore and is there a way to heal the Polish health protection today – these questions are answered by Dr. Tadeusz M. Zielonka, specialist in lung diseases and internal diseases, and dr. Paweł Basiukiewicz, Head of the Observation and Infectious Department of the Western Hospital in Grodzisk Mazowiecki.

  1. Nurses are announcing a general strike in May, while Polish residents protested a few weeks ago. The situation in the Polish health care system has been difficult for a long time
  2. On the occasion of World Health Day, celebrated on April 7, we asked doctors what the situation looks like from the perspective of people who are stuck in the system “from the inside”
  3. The answers vary, but they share a common denominator – not good, and it will get worse
  4. You can find more such stories on the TvoiLokony home page

The biggest problems of Polish health care, according to doctors

Dr hab. Tadeusz M. Zielonka, a specialist in lung diseases and internal diseases, is of the opinion that in the coming years, we will be struggling primarily with staff shortages.

– The insufficient number of doctors will be compounded by the deterioration in the quality of education during the pandemic. A well-trained army, even a small one, can do more than numerous mass movements. The protracted fight against the coronavirus is exacerbating the gaps in vocational education at all levels, while lowering the bar of requirements. The effects of such actions may be difficult to remedy for many years.

  1. See also: Restrictions extended until April 18. Is that a good decision? Expert comment

Dr hab. Tadeusz M. Zielonka also points to the deterioration of the mental state of Poles in connection with the pandemic.

– A big problem will be the limitation of the health effects of the pandemic, as many of them relate to the weaknesses of the Polish health service. One of them is underfunded and underappreciated psychiatry. Recently, the mental state of many Poles has deteriorated significantly and they will need specialist help, access to which was previously limited. A similar problem is pulmonary rehabilitation, which, despite its growing importance, was marginalized in Poland, and COVID-19 caused a significant increase in unmet needs in this regard.

Vaccination against COVID-19 may turn out to be a separate issue.

– We do not know for how long they will provide protection and whether they will effectively protect us against new variants of the coronavirus. Even if we manage to vaccinate the entire population for a year, can we repeat it in the following years, if necessary?

Bow. Paweł Basiukiewicz, Head of the Observation and Infectious Department of the Western Hospital in Grodzisk Mazowiecki, in turn, draws attention to the “heart attack in the health care system”.

– In the fall of 2020, the health care system in Poland collapsed. In short, it can be described in such a way that the paradigm of the approach to the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus has become the maxim “not a single tear” – that is, we do not allow infection at all costs, we close our eyes to all problems, human drama, lack of possibilities of diagnosis and therapy, laws that block most normal human activity, and in return we get a subjective feeling that we are controlling something, that we are reducing the number of infections.

  1. The editorial board recommends: “The pandemic discovered how poor we are in the healthcare system”

The doctor believes that preventing the transmission of the virus at all costs leads to numerous problems, including in accessibility to the health care system for patients in all areas of medicine.

– The total (but also counted individually – month by month) number of hospitalizations until the end of October 2020 (the National Health Fund provided data only until the end of October) decreased compared to the twin period in the previous year. The blame can largely be blamed on anti-pandemic, anti-transmission laws. A good example of this is the threefold increase in mortality from treated MI in some Italian centers during the hard lockdown. Such observations in various fields of medicine are repeatable.

What awaits Polish health care after the pandemic?

Dr hab. Zielonka is of the opinion that there will be no such thing as a return to normalcy after the pandemic in the health service in Poland.

– Basic health care has not fulfilled its role for a long time, mainly due to under-financing and difficulties in diagnostics, as well as prevention of basic diseases on an outpatient basis.

  1. Check also: Grzesiowski will lose his medical qualifications? MZ spokesman: not a word about the deprivation of the right to practice the profession

The doctor also talks about new challenges that will be faced by medical staff after the pandemic.

– After the pandemic, the health service will face new challenges, even more tasks, and at the same time the income of most employees will actually decrease. Allowances will be withdrawn, and inflation as wages freeze in indebted public health care facilities will mean that more will have to be done with less. At the same time, in the media and the public opinion, medical personnel will no longer heroically fight the plague on the front lines and will be guilty of not meeting the health needs of the society, which cannot be satisfied with their staff and inadequate financing. It will be a big challenge to repair the system with frustrated medical staff, very disappointed with thanks for the dedication in the fight against COVID-19.

Is there anything that can be done now to improve the situation in Polish health care?

According to drug. Paweł Basiukiewicz, normal social activity should be restored as soon as possible, because its derivative is the health of society and the normal functioning of the health care system. The doctor points to the need to lift the isolation order among people with confirmed COVID-19 infection in order to encourage self-isolation in people with symptoms of infection. The physician is of the opinion that PCR testing should also be abandoned as the samples are “repeatedly badly drawn”.

– The general requirement to wear masks should also be lifted, while at the same time seniors and people with risk factors should be encouraged to wear FFP2 lb 3 masks in closed rooms – adds Paweł Basiukiewicz.

  1. You can buy FFP2 masks at Medonet Market – 10 pieces for PLN 49,49

According to the doctor, it should also be strictly defined when it is possible to conduct teleportation.

– I believe that in the current situation, when the mechanism of “preserving” telepaths was created (they are convenient for health care institutions for various reasons – first of all, they generate lower operating costs and take less time), they should be almost completely abolished and only the possibility of extending prescriptions for drugs should be allowed taken chronically. I understand that teleporting can be helpful, but there are many indications that in the system they operate in, teleporting has contributed to a large number of deaths and there is no time to nuance the approach. They should be terminated immediately. A completely different matter is various types of telemetry systems, telemonitoring of implantable devices – this must continue to function and develop – says the expert.

Additional ways to improve the health care system in Poland

Dr hab. Tadeusz M. Zielonka is of the opinion that prevention should be the priority.

– The experiences from the first lockdown have shown how beneficial for the health of Poles was the reduction of air pollution, and the high mortality rate in the second wave of the epidemic was associated with smog. Unable to quickly improve the system, we must strive to reduce the burden on it by improving public awareness and changing behavior. Effective promotion of a healthy lifestyle with dietary changes, increased physical activity, elimination of nicotine, reduced alcohol consumption and improved air quality can have greater effects than increasing expenditure on restorative medicine.

The doctor also points out the benefits of using filter masks.

– Especially a lot can be improved by reducing air pollution in our country and promoting personal protective equipment (masks with filters, air purifiers, early notification of threats). Pandemic experiences have shown that hand hygiene, contact restriction and face masks have significantly reduced the number of viral infections that previously resulted in numerous visits to doctors, hospitalizations due to exacerbation of chronic diseases, and deaths. Maintaining these habits will certainly improve the health situation in Poland. The implementation of early social disease detection programs will be equally helpful.

A separate issue is supporting the shortage of workforce by taking the burden off doctors and nurses in the case of tasks that may be performed by someone else.

– Having too few medical personnel, we have to save them for tasks in which they are irreplaceable. Medical secretaries and caregivers of patients will allow us to survive the years necessary to educate new qualified personnel. To this end, it is necessary to ensure that secretaries and guardians are adequately trained to fulfill their new roles, while at the same time providing them with attractive remuneration so that they do not choose easier and better-paid jobs. However, it is automatically necessary to increase the incomes of doctors and nurses who have more responsible jobs.

What is the most difficult to fix in the current situation?

Bow. Paweł Basiukiewicz believes that the issue of medical awareness itself is problematic.

– It will be very difficult to change medical awareness – to break free from the paradigm of “not a single tear”. The vaccinated physician or the convalescent physician should not be afraid of infection, but should work normally. If he is afraid nevertheless, let him use personal protective equipment and work directly with patients. And if he is still afraid and does not want to examine the patients…. Well, under market conditions, such a problem is solved by the market mechanism, and that is what we are missing. It remains to be considered the resignation from the division of the system into COVID and non-COVID, as this is one of the causes of the paralysis of the health care system.

Also read:

  1. How many people in Poland died after the COVID-19 vaccine? Government data
  2. More and more young patients in hospitals due to COVID-19
  3. Doctors tell you how to know if COVID-19 has left traces in your body
  4. Types of COVID-19 Vaccines. How is vector different from mRNA vaccine? [WE EXPLAIN]
  5. Thrombosis. How is it related to COVID-19 and the AstraZeneki vaccine? The doctor explains

The content of the medTvoiLokony website is intended to improve, not replace, the contact between the Website User and their doctor. The website is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Before following the specialist knowledge, in particular medical advice, contained on our Website, you must consult a doctor. The Administrator does not bear any consequences resulting from the use of information contained on the Website. Do you need a medical consultation or an e-prescription? Go to halodoctor.pl, where you will get online help – quickly, safely and without leaving your home.Now you can use e-consultation also free of charge under the National Health Fund.

Leave a Reply