Prime Minister’s criticism hits private sector
Ten post jest także dostępny w języku:
polski
Yesterday’s conference was quite eventful. Especially a few hours after the end of the conference, the Internet was full of comments. What exactly was said at the conference and is this really the case? The private healthcare sector responds.
Third wave of COVID-19 in Poland
On Thursday 25 March, a record number of 34,000 new coronavirus infections were reported in Poland. The percentage of both covid beds and respirators occupied has risen to 75%. Therefore, in order to guarantee the efficiency of the health system, further restrictions will be introduced in various sectors of the economy.
From 27 March, hairdressing salons, furniture and DIY shops, nurseries and kindergartens will be closed in Poland, and new limits will apply to churches and shops. Moreover, the activities of sports facilities will be restricted to professional sport only. For the moment, the restrictions apply until 9 April.
Private sector reacts
During Thursday’s conference, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki also gave his assessment of the contribution of private health providers to the fight against COVID-19. There were some bitter words from the Prime Minister’s mouth towards private health providers regarding their lack of involvement in the fight against the pandemic. During the speech, the Prime Minister, among other things, said: “Does the private service today, for which I have the utmost respect (…) but does the private health service save? Does it save the health and lives of COVID-19 patients? Do we hear of any major hospitals being opened and just turned into facilities for COVID-19 patients? Well, no.” The private sector did not have to wait too long for a reaction.
The president of the LUX MED group, Anna Rulkiewicz, in an interview with the portal money.pl reminded that during the autumn wave to fight against COVID-19, the company included its hospital of St. Elizabeth in Warsaw and continues to receive patients with COVID-19, and the entire private sector involved nearly a thousand beds. We wrote more on this topic here. Medicover has also not been without comment. In an interview with cowzdrowiu.pl, Artur Bialkowski, Managing Director Business Services, emphasised that Medicover has made hospital beds available for patients with COVID-19, and recently up to 60% of ambulance trips in the network have involved patients with COVID-19. In turn, Andrzej Madrala, Vice-President of the Employers of Poland, President of the Management Board of Centrum Medyczne MAVIT and Vice-President of the All-Poland Association of Private Hospitals, in an interview with Wirtualna Polska, reported that “Minister Adam Niedzielski has still not replied to the letter in which representatives of private health services offer assistance to the state in the fight against the pandemic”.
