Izabela Leszczyna: A new hospital is needed in Nysa

The Health Minister summarized in an interview the measures taken during the floods to provide medical care in flooded areas.

- We activated the Air Rescue Service. The fire department, the army, medical rescue - all were on full alert 24 hours a day. The directors of the provincial branches of the NFZ in Opole and Wroclaw, for example, helped relocate patients in Nysa or Paczków. It was such a job that everyone immediately had to give the best of themselves: skills and empathy - so that no patient suffered. That's also what happened. No patients, neither in Nysa nor in Paczków, as these were the two most dramatic cases of flooding of medical facilities, suffered. Patients were relocated to other hospitals and other facilities," pointed out Izabela Leszczyna.

As the Health Minister admitted, the situation was dramatic and there was no shortage of nerves.

- The evacuation in Nysa was divided into two parts. One took place as early as Sunday, 15.09, and the other the next day before noon. That it cost a lot of nerves is clear. But in such situations we are there to save people's lives and health. I thank everyone very much for this. It's not just a matter of securing people in hospitals, but there were also dialysis patients, patients requiring mechanical ventilation and needing a generator if the electricity was turned off. They all got these generators in time. We coordinated this, and even the Internet community reported on the needs and responded immediately," the health ministry head said.

However, in the context of preparations for flood-related activities, there is also criticism, especially from politicians. Law and Justice activists accuse the government of being tardy in taking action. They point out, among other things, that the hospital in Nysa should have been evacuated earlier.

- I was in Nysa and spoke with the hospital director. He is a Law and Justice party activist, head of the party's Nysa structures. I didn't hear a single word of complaint from him. The director said that the facility was prepared for the situation, that the ED was moved to higher floors. Could something have been done earlier? One can speculate after the fact. No one was hurt, and both the hospital director and the head of Nysa were happy to transport all the patients," said Izabela Leszczyna.

Meanwhile, talks are underway to rebuild the hospital, which was destroyed by the floods. The head of the health ministry stressed in an interview with TVN24 that eventually a new medical center should be built, preferably in a completely different location.

- This is my dream, because we want to avoid such a situation in the future. We need a modern center, for the 21st century. I think that within a few weeks this current hospital will be renovated enough to function in it - to provide diagnostics and treatment," the health minister said.