The Parliamentary Health Committee has voted on amendments to remove speech therapists and dietitians from the draft law on certain medical professions. Dietitians, however, will be partially covered by it. At issue are those who perform activities within the scope of guaranteed benefits.
Speech therapists and dieticians outside the law on certain medical professions
Published May 26, 2023 09:57
Two amendments have been prepared on the deletion of the dietetics profession from the act. The Civic Coalition proposed removing the profession from the act altogether, while the Law and Justice proposed limiting the force of the act to those performing professional activities within the scope of guaranteed benefits as defined in the Act on publicly funded health care services. The proposal by MP Boleslaw Piecha of the Law and Justice Party was adopted. According to the opposition, this will lead to a split in the dietetics community between those whose work is regulated and those whose work is not regulated by the law.
- We have had a long discussion, both on dietitians and speech therapists. Dietitian is not a peri-medical or paramedical profession, but a correct and independent medical profession. We share the environment's view of the need to establish professional chambers and prepare a separate law on this profession. The amendment proposed by the Law and Justice club will lead to problems in practicing this profession and paying VAT. Rejection of my amendment will lead to the fact that there will be no training standards, and all private activities of dietitians' offices will be subject to VAT. The resulting costs will be passed on to the clients of these offices," said MP Krystyna Skowronska of the Civic Coalition, the author of the amendment leading to the deletion of dietitians from the law under consideration.
Amendments submitted by parliamentary clubs on the deletion of the speech therapy profession from the law were in agreement with each other. In the end, the profession of speech therapist will not be included in the Law on Certain Health Professions. However, there was no deletion of the professions of optometrist, orthoptist and dental technician from the law. The list of professions covered by the pending legislation did not include hospital orderlies and medical secretaries, but it did include addiction therapy instructors.
