Patient queues growing as medical centres still without contracts for 2015

Many medical centres were still closed at the beginning of 2015 due to unsigned contracts with the National Health Fund. Photo: PAP/Grzegorz Michałowski

Twenty percent of clinics around the country were still closed on Friday, as thousands of doctors had not yet signed a contract with the National Health Fund (NFZ) for 2015.

Only the Wielkopolska and Kuyavian-Pomeranian provinces have seen all of the clinics signing contracts for the year.

It may take many more days for the situation to return to normal says NFZ spokesperson Agnieszka Golabek.

“We are collecting reports from 16 regions,” Golabek said. “It takes some work and takes some time, everything needs to be confirmed and undergo formal verification,” she added.

In shambles

Now Opposition MPs are protesting the government’s failure to avoid such a problem.

Dariusz Jonski from the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) said that it is imperative to find a solution to this situation. “We do not know who is right, we only know who is losing out – the patients,” Jonski said.

Opposition party Law and Justice (PiS) MPs have asked Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz to find a solution. “We urge the Prime Minister to take a position on this issue, to involve herself in the conversation that led to the fact that the citizens of our country can feel safe,” said PiS MP Mariusz Blaszczak.

Doctors in Poland need to sign a new contract with NFZ every year and detail the number of patients and the projected budget they need to cover their duties. (rg/jb)

Source: IAR/PAP