Draft regulation on medical rehabilitation. Doctors and physiotherapists: it must be stopped and rewritten

- The situation has been difficult for years. Various circles have advanced that patients should have access to world-class medical rehabilitation. The Ministry of Health's new draft regulation, which has been submitted for publication, contains provisions that threaten paralysis. It can't be that patients don't get medical rehabilitation," said Chairman Lukasz Jankowski.

We are talking about the regulation, a draft of which was submitted for consultation in late September. Among other things, the draft includes a significant shortening of the list of indications for rehabilitation.

- The proposed draft legislation is extremely unfair to our patients and results in the exclusion of large groups from rehabilitation. The most seriously ill patients are particularly affected. We are appalled at the treatment of children, who are being restricted from access to home rehabilitation. Among others, children with scoliosis have been excluded. It is hard to imagine leaving spinal cord injury patients without home care 12-24 months after such an incident. We have no way to take care of patients with multiple sclerosis. The exclusion criteria in no way reflect reality," mentioned Dr. Rafał Sapuła, president of the Polish Rehabilitation Association.

In his opinion, the evaluation scales are inadequate to medical knowledge and in no way correspond to the clinical condition of the patients. The standard of having 25 patients per doctor is also unacceptable.

- It is difficult to find positive elements. Rehabilitation is the cheapest possible form of therapy. It reduces medication and hospitalizations. It is an area that, in all world recommendations, is the next stage of treatment of the acute phase. Pricing, meanwhile, is at a tragic level. There are closures of wards and beds, and we want to treat patients in a modern and dignified way. Valuations are several hundred zlotys less than the daily cost of patient care. As a result, rehabilitation departments are generating huge debts," said Dr. Rafal Sapula.

- Rehabilitation, including physiotherapy, is the only form that allows patients to remain fit and independent for as long as possible. The proposal we are talking about will deprive them of this possibility. Our goal is to stop this regulation at the moment, and then multicentrally help the Ministry write a proper rehabilitation regulation," added Marcin Trębowicz.