The Supreme Medical Chamber published on platform X on Saturday, August 10, there will be a long post addressed to Prime Minister Donald Tusk. NIL President Łukasz Jankowski stated in it that “the medical community receives with indignation subsequent public statements by politicians of the ruling coalition, which not only violate the dignity of the medical profession, but also directly antagonize doctors and patients.”
The Supreme Medical Chamber responded to the words of Przemysław Witek
“MP Przemysław Witek (KO) said on Polish Radio, among other things, 'I believe that every pool of money that we throw into the system, whether it is 10, 20 or 100 billion – will be eaten by doctors. (…) So far, every attempt to correct the healthcare reform ended with it being eaten by white staff – mainly doctors. And what should be done? One thing should be done. We have to introduce as many doctors as possible to the market as quickly as possible'” – NIL reported at the beginning of its statement.
“The above statement is completely devoid of sense (since the MP notes that doctors are the most expensive employees, he should – as is the case in other countries – strive to relieve doctors by introducing so-called auxiliary workers, physician assistants or reducing bureaucracy (…), instead of proposing excessive, quality-deprived 'production' of doctors – the most qualified and therefore the most expensive employees for the system)” – the press release continued. The President of the Supreme Medical Chamber emphasized that Witek's words showed “a striking lack of knowledge about the health care system” and were perceived by the medical community “as an offensive position of the entire ruling party towards our professional group”.
Another example of insulting doctors is the comment of the Deputy Minister of Health
NIL also recalled other controversial words that were said about Polish doctors, and which were recently said by the Deputy Minister of Health Jerzy Szafranowicz himself. “An orthopedist can see a given patient 3 times, but also 15 times,” the deputy head of the ministry said in July during the Sejm Health Committee.
“Therefore, I am asking for support from the Prime Minister in explaining the situation and preventing further attempts to discredit our professional group in the eyes of patients in the future. At the same time, NIL continues to express its readiness for an expert dialogue on the healthcare system with government experts,” concluded NIL President Łukasz Jankowski.