5 Deadly Sins of NSO

One in four Poles will develop cancer, and one in five will die from it. Each year, malignant neoplasm is diagnosed in more than 180,000 people, and there are now more than 1.1 million Polish residents living with the disease. Meanwhile, oncology care, despite ambitious plans and huge expectations, continues to limp along.

The National Oncology Strategy, enacted for 2020-2030, was supposed to change Polish oncology. After five years of implementation, the Alivia Foundation has published a report titled "Tasks Unhooked - Promises Unfulfilled," in which it analyzes the effects of the Strategy's introduction from the patients' perspective. The report shows that most of the key goals have not been achieved, and many of the measures implemented "on paper" have not brought real benefits to patients.

Prevention still on the sidelines

In the area of screening, Poland is still in the tail of Europe. In 2024, only 33% of women will go for mammography (target: 60%), 14% for cytology (target: 60%), and only 11% of patients will have a colonoscopy (target: 30%). The situation with primary prevention is even worse - vaccination rates against HPV are only 11% against a target of 60%.

Instead of declining, the percentage of smokers is increasing. In 2022, 30.8 percent of men and 27.1 percent of women will be smokers - a disturbing trend that shows that government health policies are not resulting in real change in health behavior.

Deficiencies in diagnosis, inequities in treatment

Systemic monitoring of the patient pathway still does not work - the e-DILO card remains a dead tool, and the patient still has to "watch" his diagnosis and treatment on his own. A nationwide system for quality control of cancer therapies has also not been established. The place of residence still determines how and where the patient will be treated - this violates the basic principles of equality and access to services.

5 Deadly Sins of NSO

The Alivia Oncofoundation has identified five key systemic flaws that undermine the effectiveness of NSO:

1. Lack of outcome measures - many tasks were considered completed, despite the lack of real results for patients.
2. Changes in objectives and deadlines - modifications in the content of tasks have diluted their original meaning. An example? The implementation of "Cancer Units" planned for 2020 was stretched to 2026.
3. Formalism in reporting - it was often enough to create a brochure or pilot to consider the task completed.
4. Regional inequalities - modern treatment is sometimes available only in selected provinces.
5. Lack of independent evaluation - evaluation of NSO progress remains in the hands of the Ministry of Health, with no external oversight or participation by patient organizations.

Source: ALIVIA