Further drastic cuts in healthcare. New regulations introduced by the Ministry of Health provide financial incentives for facilities that give up 24-hour wards or limit the scope of services.
The National Health Fund encourages ward closures
The National Health Fund (NFZ) has introduced further changes as part of its ongoing “savings” program. The new proposal aims to encourage hospitals to shut down wards. Facilities that close a ward will continue to receive the same level of funding as before for a period of two years. This stems from regulations introduced in a decree by the Minister of Health concerning the calculation of lump-sum payments for hospitals, in force since February this year.
Another solution, which will undoubtedly have a significant impact on patients, involves hospitals receiving 50 percent of their previous funding for 24 months if they convert a 24-hour ward into one providing scheduled or one-day services. Another option is to transform existing hospital beds into so-called long-term care. The portal “Rynek Zdrowia” was the first to report on this idea.
In its official statement, the Ministry of Health pointed to a number of “benefits” for hospitals opting for this solution. “The proposed regulations will have a positive impact on the financial situation of healthcare entities classified as large enterprises, by limiting the scale of reduction in the lump-sum funding under the healthcare security system, in connection with the discontinuation of services within a given hospital profile,” the ministry wrote in the document.
For the liquidation of a 24-hour ward to take place, approval must be granted by the supervising authority, namely a municipality, county, or regional government. The regulations also state that such closures must not result in reduced access to healthcare services. Where will 24-hour wards be closed?
According to “Rzeczpospolita”, 25 facilities have already submitted applications to close 24-hour wards, with 7 having received approval so far. Wards will certainly be shut down in the following facilities:
- Independent Public Healthcare Unit (SP ZOZ) in Radzyń Podlaski (Lublin Voivodeship),
- SP ZOZ in Lesko and SP ZOZ in Leżajsk (Subcarpathian Voivodeship),
- County Hospital named after Prof. Roman Drews in Chodzież,
- Specialist Hospital in Piła named after Stanisław Staszic,
- Ministry of Interior and Administration Hospital (SP ZOZ MSWiA) in Poznań named after Prof. Ludwik Bierkowski (Greater Poland Voivodeship),
- SP ZOZ in Kędzierzyn-Koźle (Opole Voivodeship).