All the problems of health care have been solved, outlays have increased by 120 percent in eight years (this was announced on Twitter on Tuesday by Minister of Education and Science Przemyslaw Czarnek, who, as rumor has it, is preparing to take over as head of government after the elections. It's time for hospital patients to feel the good change on their plates. The health minister talks about "completing the changes" introduced over two terms by the current government and the opposition - and a huge portion of experts and commentators scoff at "concrete number 2." - After eight years of government, during which the lamentable financial condition of hospitals and queues to specialists have not been solved, they propose a nutritious soup? - they ask.
Good change on hospital plates?
Published Sept. 6, 2023 08:16
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Nearly four out of five Poles believe, as polls conducted for dailies including Rzeczpospolita show, that health care problems should be the most important topic of the ongoing election campaign. And you can rather bet dollars against nuts that those who say so do not have in mind (and certainly not primarily) the dire state of nutrition in institutions.
For the fact that the vast majority of hospitals feed patients badly, sometimes even in a way that defies reason and human dignity, has not been known for a long time. Just as obvious is the connection between the financial condition of an institution and whether it saves (or rather, how drastically it saves) on the so-called boiler charge.
Groups vying for power, including certainly the party, undividedly in power for eight years, should have a concrete proposal for solving the problem of underfunding of health care, followed by loss-generating levels of funding for individual providers. You can hide the data, you can try to color it - some in green (nominal outlays), some in pale gray (percentage of real GDP), but you won't hide it, ultimately: Poland spends about 5 percent of GDP from public money on health, the EU average hovers around 8 percent. These missing 3 percentage points translate, among other things, but not primarily, also into what patients get on their plates when they have to be treated in hospitals. But also - above all - on the whole offer of the public health system, with its queues, limited access to modern therapies (yes, their list has grown significantly and very many patients have gained access, but the group of those still waiting for positive decisions from the Ministry of Health is not small either).
Those who govern must take responsibility for solving problems on a macro level. When they are solved, hospital nutritionists and hospital intenders will have no problem arranging and executing proper menus, and patients will really be able to count on a good meal.
