A large proportion of nurses have received raises lower than indicated by their qualifications, and the criteria for allocating funds for the implementation of the act on minimum wages for hospitals remain a secret - according to the discussion that took place on Tuesday at the Senate Health Committee.
Increased chaos
Published Oct. 5, 2022 09:21
The committee met on this matter for the second time: a month earlier, the discussion ended with a conclusion that the Ministry of Health should, in the coming weeks, present specific solutions to problems reported by hospitals and the social side, above all - the nurses' community. Already in September, they alarmed that some directors, qualifying for index groups, do not recognize the qualifications they have, relying only on those required for a specific position.
For a month, according to Tuesday's discussion, the state of affairs has practically not changed. Moreover, both the chairman of the committee, Beata Małecka-Libera, and other senators who took the floor during the two-hour exchange of opinions, pointed out that both the course of the implementation of the provisions of the Act in August and September as well as the almost non-stop information about the need to verify the amounts transferred to medical entities, and intended for the implementation of the provisions of the amended act are proof that it has been poorly prepared and that its implementation is simply chaos. - Therefore, we are returning to the subject of implementing the provisions of the act once again and we expect a clear declaration of what the Ministry of Health understands under the slogans: 16 percent. and restructuring - indicated the chairman of the Senate committee. Małecka-Libera also said that nurses are the most frustrated group at the moment.
- I do not agree with the statement that we are dealing with chaos and mess - said Deputy Minister Piotr Bromber. - So far, no one has ever introduced a solution that would be addressed to such a wide group of medical professions - he emphasized. He added that salary increases from 17 to 41 percent. are a fact, and the situations cited by Senator Beata Małecka-Libera should not affect the assessment of the essence of the implemented provisions. - Even if problems arise, we try to meet them. I would also like to remind you that the act is the result of a consensus developed in the Tripartite Team, and thus we cannot say that the act was written from behind the ministerial desk - added Piotr Bromber. He also assured that not only the provisions of the adopted act were historical, but also the scale of expenses it entailed.
The deputy head of the ministry enumerated all the "remedial measures" that the ministry and the National Health Fund had taken after the regulations came into force - indicators, streams of additional funds to level I and II hospitals, revaluation and finally the "restructuring" stream. - In order to further improve the situation of service providers, the National Health Fund was obliged to implement correction coefficients up to 16% from September 1. the increases for those hospital units that did not receive additional financing or their contract increases were lower. - PLN 520 million will be allocated for this purpose by June 2023 - he reminded.
However, the representatives of district hospitals present at the meeting explained that the situation was not as drawn by the minister. Examples? In Wielkopolska, among the poviat hospitals, only a small part can count on higher valuations in night medical assistance, and the coefficients increasing the valuation in the interna concern only a fraction of the local government units. Hospitals are converting money streams into personnel costs, but they are alarming that at the moment the main problem is the soaring inflation costs, and the valuation of benefits is not keeping up with them at all.
