The Regional Chamber of Physicians in Szczecin has sent a letter to Prime Minister Donald Tusk, drawing attention to the dramatic situation in which patients and dentists have found themselves as a result of the National Health Fund's failure to make payments for excess services.
Lack of payment for overdrafts - a systemic problem
President of the Regional Medical Council in Szczecin, Michal Bulsa, stresses that the situation is the worst ever. Dentists are in danger of having to close their offices, as it is becoming impossible to continue performing procedures without payment. - We are fed up with NFZ crediting. The situation related to dental care in Poland is dramatic ," says Bulsa.
According to dentists, public health care, including dentistry, psychiatry and rehabilitation, is de facto credited to doctors. They expect action from the government to ensure financial stability and allow dental offices to operate normally. Currently, only pain patients and children are treated, the rest have to wait months for an appointment.
Patients and doctors in desperation
The lack of financing for overages by the National Health Service is making it increasingly difficult for patients to access dentists. In many dental offices in Szczecin, all limits have already been exceeded, and new appointments can only be made for next year. For doctors, this is an unacceptable situation, as their work is not paid. - We are crediting the National Health Fund with no guarantee that we will be paid," says Ewa Tomaszewska of the Dental Committee at the Regional Medical Council in Szczecin.
Conflicts between patient and doctor
The current situation is also creating tensions between patients and medical staff. Patients who cannot get treatment under the National Health Fund are sometimes aggressive toward registrars. There are even situations in which those privately enrolled with a dentist refuse to pay after the procedure has been performed, a result of frustration and helplessness resulting from the inability to receive public health care.
The District Medical Chamber is calling for urgent action on the part of the government and the National Health Fund to provide funds for the overruns that will allow dentists to function normally and provide patients with necessary medical care.
Source: OIL in Szczecin
