– There are doctors who earn quite an average salary, but some earn very, very much. I wouldn't mind that if the health service really worked as it should, said Jarosław Kaczyński, the president of Law and Justice, during a meeting with the residents of Nowa Sól. Kaczyński's words sparked indignation among doctors. The Presidium of the Supreme Medical Council issued an official position.
A storm after the words of the PiS president in Nowa Sól. Doctors are outraged by allegations against them
Published Dec. 6, 2022 10:13
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As the president of PiS emphasized, the profession of a doctor is difficult, and it takes at least 10 years to learn it. In his opinion, wages may be high, but in return there must be good health care.
- I have nothing against a full-time doctor earning great money, but a doctor has to be in the hospital from the morning when he starts work, until the moment when he formally ends it, i.e. until the afternoon, and even longer if necessary. Must have a sense of responsibility for the patient. A doctor is a man not only of a certain profession, but also of a certain mission - said Kaczyński.
The PiS president added that he constantly learns about scandalous cases, and many emergency departments operate in such a way that people with severe illness wait for help for over twenty hours.
Kaczyński's words sparked outrage among doctors. In the statement published on Monday, the Supreme Medical Council emphasizes that the allegations against doctors are unfair.
The statement that "doctors are excessively chasing money" is highly harmful to us, it suggests an untrue thesis that it is the desire for profit that motivates doctors to work - we read in the letter.
Doctors consider such statements as attempts to shift the blame for the poorly functioning health care system onto medical staff, the organization of which lies within the powers of the government and the consequences of which patients face on a daily basis.
– It is a faulty system of health care organization, a drastic shortage of specialist doctors and extremely difficult working conditions in hospitals that mean that many of us have to work in more than one place in order to provide patients with e.g. continuity of care in hospitals and enable access to health services. Often the mode of our work puts our own health at risk and we do it at the expense of private life, working several hundred hours a month, saving the system standing on the verge of efficiency. It should also be noted that the diversity in earnings, as in any profession, is related to the number of hours worked, as well as the form of employment. Meanwhile, the statutory remuneration of a specialist doctor in a public hospital usually amounts to a minimum amount of 1.45 of the national average at the moment – indicates the presidium of the NRL.
