Empty Polish Hospital
Will Pro Business Polish Government Destroy Poland's Public Health System?
Warsaw, Poland - 3, January 2008 Poland, suffering from a shortage of Doctors and new work rules imposed by the European Union, is considering preventing doctors that work at Polish hospitals from working in private clinics. Will this drive more doctors to work in the West or to move to full time private work and leave the Polish Hospitals unable to provide services?
Because of the westward movement of many doctors looking for better pay and work conditions, there is a shortage of doctors. And patients are not getting the care they expect.
The shortage problem is compounded in that not all of those available in the country are willing to sign employment contracts by the hospitals.
Now Health Minister Ewa Kopacz has stepped in to the fray. She wants the doctors that have signed contracts to work longer hours at the hospitals.
But she, a member of Poland's new "pro business" Government does not seem to understand how a free market works. Like Health Ministers of previous governments, she seems to assume that doctors will march to the beat of the government drum and not act as free thinking individuals with their own needs and desires.
She is considering preventing doctors who are working at hospitals from working in private practices. According to the Ministry, working in two places is a conflict of interest. A doctor in private practice is in competition with hospitals.
According to the Warsaw Business Journal, Deputy Health Minister Andrzej Wlodarczyk cited Spain as an example. "In Spain there is a law on the prohibition of competition. A doctor may work either in public or private job, not both."
But, unlike the "pro business" Government, the doctor's union understands how a free market works. And the union appears ready to demonstrate its understanding.
According to the Warsaw Business Journal, Doctor's trade union representative responded to the Health Ministry's threat by saying, "Let them do it. The loser will be the state. All doctors will leave for private practices."
The end result may be the destruction of the current health care system and its replacement by self privatised medicine.
And more doctors may head West.
Update: Correction and apology. The original article failed to credit the quotations, provided to us by a reader as a news lead and without attribution, as translations done by the Warsaw Business Journal from another article. We apologize for the error.
