Help for Ukrainian citizens is essential

And since there is no refund, some prescription drugs remain on paper. Many refugees do not have the money to buy drugs.

- Unrefunded drugs are sometimes very expensive. Diabetes and asthmatic drugs - they cost so much that we know immediately that they will not be bought by refugees. We help, or the families with whom they are staying - says Joanna Zabielska-Cieciuch, vice-president of the Podlasie Association of Doctors Employers Zielona Góra Agreement.

As reported by doctors associated with the Zielona Góra Agreement, the most frequent patients are children. Mothers come with them because they have a cold, they have a fever, runny nose, and sometimes stomach problems. Doctors know very well that one visit is unlikely to end.

In nearby Augustów, there are 280 people in a refugee center. Many with chronic diseases. Most - without any documents. Fortunately, it's usually nothing serious. It is different in every region.

Many really seriously ill patients have reached Warmia and Mazury.

- The refugees include cancer patients, organ transplant recipients, and psychiatric patients. Most without medical records. In Kętrzyn, a doctor saw a patient after an abdominal surgery at the clinic. The woman informed that "the doctors removed everything" and that she was to have another appointment and further treatment - just a drama - says Anna Osowska, president of the Warmia and Mazury Association of Employers' Doctors, Zielona Góra Agreement.

A patient treated for 8 years due to depression and panic attacks came to her in Sępopol. The fear has worsened, he has nightmares, he was afraid to close his eyes because he still saw bombs falling on the cars, the documentation, unfortunately, remained at home. Fortunately, the patient was well-informed about his health situation, yet it took over 40 minutes to make a diagnosis and to determine the Polish equivalents of the medications he was taking.

A kidney transplant patient came to Olsztyn without drugs. The doctor tried to find out if he had bought her prescribed medications, but unfortunately he hadn't.

Patients qualified for liver and kidney transplants in Ukraine have other problems. They were treated, they waited in the queue for a transplant, but they did not take their medical records, but they are determined and want to continue their treatment in Poland.

Another region of Poland - Lublin region. This is a transition zone. There aren't many refugees for long.

- We are waiting for the next wave, this time from the vicinity of Lviv. But every day we have patients with chronic diseases, including hypertension and diabetes - says Małgorzata Stokowska-Wojda, Lublin Association of Family Doctors-Employers. Although we donated blood glucose meters to those in need, patients have to buy the strips themselves. Often, the cost of buying drugs is a heavy burden on refugees and the families that took them. That is why local associations come with help, which buy refugees' prescriptions for the financial support they have received.

The further west of Poland it seems, the quieter it seems.

- I have 2-3 patients every day. Recently, a young mother with an infant came to me and wanted to vaccinate the child for everything that is provided for in the vaccination calendar - says Agata Sławin, vice president of the Lower Silesian Association of Family Doctors - Employers. Most often, parents do not have medical records or vaccination records. Worse, without such documents, my mother comes to me with the teenager she wants to vaccinate, but we still do not know the details for which he has already been vaccinated - adds the doctor.

In many places in Poland, PZ doctors themselves put up health books for children and begin vaccinating them, but there are still no precise guidelines.

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