With two months to go before the planned end of the pilot program in mental health centers, it is still unclear whether the idea of community psychiatry will continue and on what terms. Despite assurances from the Health Ministry about the priority of this form of care, the lack of clear decisions is causing concern among patients and the medical community. The Ombudsman's Office has asked the Health Ministry about the future of the model, which experts agree is effective in providing quick access to help for people in mental crisis.
The case for the future of mental health centers. There is an answer from the Ministry of Health
Published May 29, 2025 06:57
While everyone agrees that it is necessary for the good of patients to continue community psychiatry in the form of mental health centers, their future remains uncertain. The pilot program, launched under a Health Ministry decree on April 27, 2018, is testing a model to provide rapid, local and comprehensive access to psychological and psychiatric assistance. The impending end date of the program - with no information on further plans - is causing growing concern among patients and professionals.
The Ombudsman is receiving signals from people concerned about the program's extinction. - Virtually all those who are asking agree that it is necessary for the good of patients to continue community psychiatry in the form of mental health centers, the Ombudsman's Office stresses.
In response to a question from BRPO Administrative and Economic Law Team Director Piotr Mierzejewski, the Health Ministry said that on May 7, 2025, a draft amendment to the pilot program regulation was published on the Government Legislation Center website. Its goal is to safely end the program while ensuring continuity of services for patients. Comments on the draft could be submitted until May 17.
According to the ministry's letter, the completion of the pilot is expected to be a necessary step before implementing the community-based model nationwide. - In the Health Ministry's view, the priority should be to move toward equalizing access to health services, especially in such priority areas as mental health, Kuba Sękowski, deputy director of the Public Health Department, wrote in the response.
The ministry indicates that since the beginning of the year it has been in dialogue with representatives of the psychiatric community affiliated with the Mental Health Council, a statutory advisory body to the health minister. Among other things, the meetings are discussing proposals for a basket of guaranteed services for mental health centers, quality indicators and an evaluation model.
In addition, on December 4, 2024, the Health Minister's order established a Team for system change in mental health centers. It includes representatives of the ministry, the National Health Fund and the psychiatric community. The team's goal is to prepare proposals for organizational and financial solutions, an implementation strategy and a final report that will go to the Minister of Health.
As the Health Ministry emphasizes, its current goal is to develop appropriate legislative projects that will allow the solutions tested in the pilot to be permanently incorporated into the mental health system. - The key is to maintain and develop the idea of community psychiatry and ensure that patients receive comprehensive care provided in mental health centers, the ministry assures.
Despite these declarations, concrete decisions on the future of the model have still not been made. With two months to go before the end of the program, it is unclear in what form and when the solutions developed in the pilot will be implemented nationwide.
