Senior care: between the potential of the system and the real lack of coordination

The system of care for seniors in Poland does not work in a uniform manner. As the director of the National Institute of Geriatrics, Rheumatology and Rehabilitation in Warsaw, Izabela Marcewicz-Jendrysik, points out, there is a clear regional disparity - in large agglomerations there are many programs and initiatives in place to support both seniors and medical personnel, but their potential is still not fully utilized. - We have a very uneven distribution of activity regionally," she said in an interview with Medexpress.

The most serious deficiencies are in smaller towns, where the needs of seniors are often not met. The Institute's director points out that the system alone will not solve all the problems - grassroots initiatives and the involvement of health and social care managers play a huge role. A key element of effective geriatric care remains primary health care. It is at this level that the needs of senior patients should be identified and the next treatment pathway planned.

Lack of coordination results in patient confusion and overloading of specialists and emergency departments. The solution, our interviewee stresses, is clearly defined coordination of care and rational referral of patients to where help is actually needed. Without this, geriatric care will remain more the exception than the standard.