How much would doctors like to earn?

On Monday, the NIL presented the results of a survey, conducted last November, on the working conditions and salaries of doctors and dentists. Interest in the survey was enormous, with more than 7.5 thousand people participating (filling out questionnaires). Approximately 5.5 thousand complete, correctly filled out questionnaires were included in the survey. -This is the largest survey conducted in the history of our local government, - emphasized NIL representatives.

The timing was not accidental: in autumn, the voices of decision-makers strongly resonated, pointing to the problem of the amount of doctors' salaries. The public, according to the president of the Supreme Medical Council, Lukasz Jankowski, was learning about invoices, issued by doctors, for example, for 300 thousand zlotys. The local government, on the other hand, invariably reminded the public of its demand: three national averages for a specialist as the minimum salary for an employment contract. And it was this demand that became the starting point for the survey, in which only members of the self-government, verified in the Central Register of Doctors and Dentists, could participate.

What do the survey results say? First of all, the local government's proposal for three national averages is viewed favorably, although only less than half of those who are currently working non-contracted expressed interest in moving to full-time employment at such a salary. The expectations of the remaining non-contract workers, conventionally called "contract workers," are higher: 36 percent of those surveyed who would not give a positive answer indicated that only a range of 40001-60000 PLN could induce them to switch to an employment contract. On the other hand, 19 percent expect a salary above PLN 60000.

One of the main problems in the public system is the shortage of specialists - guaranteeing them higher salaries on a full-time basis would help increase accessibility for patients. However, nearly half of doctors do not believe in such an effect of the "three national averages for specialists" operation. What's more, six out of ten physicians oppose the idea, sometimes discussed by the Health Minister, of abolishing contracts at the same time. Both the medical self-government and the OZZL believe that doctors can be encouraged to switch to full-time employment, while the elimination of other forms of cooperation is downright dangerous to the system, because full-time employment significantly reduces a doctor's working hours.