Psychiatry and psychology. President of the TVN Foundation about the situation in Poland

The crisis of mental health in Poland is so great that two weeks after the opening of the Center for Psychiatry and Oncology for Children and Youth, there were no places lying in the hospital part – said Zuzanna Lewandowska, president of the TVN Foundation on TVN24. As she said, the hospital was scheduled for 30 beds, and after two weeks patients lay in the corridors. “Watching it is simply dramatic,” she admitted.

In January, the Center for Psychiatry and Oncology for Children and Youth was opened. It is a facility that was founded on the initiative of the TVN Foundation and the Children's Health Center with the support of the Ministry of Health. The center is a response to a growing number of young people in the crisis of mental health. The value of the investment is nearly PLN 100 million.

In February, the center adopted the first patients.

After two weeks there were no beds

– The crisis of mental health, which the TVN Foundation has been devoting a lot of attention for several years, is so great that two weeks after the opening of the hospital, there were no places lying in the hospital center of psychiatry – said Zuzanna Lewandowska, president of the TVN Foundation on TVN24. As she said, the hospital was scheduled for 30 beds, and after two weeks patients lay in the corridors. “Watching it is simply dramatic,” she admitted.

– We decided to almost double the number of beds in this hospital. We will buy 25 beds for the money that we will pass tomorrow during a charity concert to the hospital, but we will also be able to equip the calm room, which is very important for the center patients – emphasized Lewandowska.

“Very important brick”

As she said, the TVN Foundation wants to expand access to care. – We have a project in which we have already built 31 psychological offices, psychiatrics at hospitals. We do it throughout Poland, but we do not stop there. We want to build 100 such offices by 2027 – she announced. She added that 350,000 more visits available in Poland each year.

“In this way, we want to add a very important brick to solve this problem as a TVN Foundation,” she said. She indicated that in Poland 800,000 children and schoolchildren need professional psychological and psychiatric care in Poland.

– This is exactly as much as the population of Krakow has, the second largest city in Poland. This is such a huge problem – she assessed. – We try to scale our help and what is most important, through help for such wonderful places in Poland as the Children's Health Center, but also acting throughout Poland, we want to help everyone throughout our country – emphasized Lewandowska.