National Health Faces Crisis

Health Problems

The National Heath Fund (NFZ) is in dire financial straits because not only is income from health care premiums lower than assumed, but also some branches have already spent the money they had for refunded medicine. Therefore, hospitals will receive less money from the NFZ and as a result they may not have enough to treat sick people. Due to the dramatic financial situation of the NFZ, hospitals will not only get less money than they should, but the NFZ also wants to save some money on the refund of medicine. Some NFZ branches have exceeded the money intended for refunded medicine. Most of it is spent on extra funding for drugs for asthma, diabetes and heart disease. “We would like to spend more money on treating sick people; however, all the available funds are allocated for the refunding of drugs. We appeal to doctors to be more prudent when writing out prescriptions and offer patients cheaper options. Patients, on the other hand, should not extort medicine from their doctors they do not really need,” says Mariusz Szymański, spokesperson of the NFZ Pomerania regional branch.
Dziennik

Newzar can be emailed to you directly

Swine Flu in Poland

New Threat

So far it has been the most serious case of swine flu in Poland. An 8-year-old girl infected with A/H1N1 is being treated in one Warsaw’s hospitals. However, the situation is especially difficult as the illness from which the girl has suffered from for years has made her condition worse. “It has been the first case of such severity in Poland,” said Jan Bondar, spokesman for the Chief Sanitary Inspectorate. The girl infected with A/H1N1 is at the Niekłańska Street Hospital in Warsaw. However, before she got there several hospitals refused to take her in. “The girl’s condition is made worse by other illnesses from which she suffers. I cannot reveal what these illnesses are, but the girl certainly does not only suffer from swine flu. Due to all these factors the girl’s infection is the most serious case of swine flu in Poland,” said Magdalena Tęczyńska, who works at the Niekłańska Street Hospital, in an interview for RMF FM. The girl is an American citizen of Polish descent. She came to Poland with her brother and grandmother on 26^th June.  They came from Atlanta with a change in London.
Dziennik

Newzar can be emailed to you directly

Too Small Feet

Needs Your Help

5-year-old Krzyś Gryc from Białystok (Podlaskie Province) cries because his feet do not grow. He has been suffering from a rare disease called arthogryposis ever since he was born. His feet, no bigger than those of a 3-year-old child, do not keep up with his body. If not operated on urgently, the boy will not be able to walk soon. This horrible disease was diagnosed when Krzyś was one week old. His feet were deformed and he had them in plaster for a whole year. The following years brought more suffering – numerous appointments with doctors, weeks spent in hospital, operations and rehabilitation. Despite the efforts of doctors, the boy’s feet are still not growing. Other than this  this problem, Krzyś is a normal, healthy child. According to his mother Anna Gryc, he is cheerful and intelligent. He loves playing with his sisters and brothers and going to kindergarten. But without an operation he will spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. His mother says that nobody in Poland is able to help him any longer. She adds that they cannot afford treatment abroad. An operation on Krzyś’ feet carried out by a specialized clinic in Vogtareuth, Germany costs approximately 25,000 Euro. The Christian Charity Service (Chrześcijańska Służba Charytatywna) has made a bank account available for Krzyś for those wanting to help him. The account number is as follows: 30 1500 1126 1211 2010 0053 000.
Super Express

Newzar can be emailed to you directly

Watch out Where to Eat!

Ugh!

After reading this article you may no longer want to eat fast food. Stale meat, raw meat, pizza with non-cheese cheese, smaller portions… This is what you can find in typical Polish bars with cheap food. Inspectors from the National Inspectorate have had difficulties finding a place that would meet  recognised standards. According to a National Inspectorate report, 85% of fast food restaurants cheat their customers. First of all, they serve too small portions of food. Half of the inspected restaurants give false information about the prices of the meals. One quarter of inspected food does not meet quality standards. The food used for preparing meals is of poor quality. Instead of cheese we get cheese-like products, instead of herring we get anchovies, instead of bacon we get smoked bacon. What is more, inspectors from the National Inspectorate have even come across pizza which was without any of the ingredients specified in the menu. It is also standard procedure to save on expensive ingredients. Consequently, meat dumplings, for examples, contain only one quarter meat. Another huge problem is the expiration date of food. One kebab stall served meat which had expired by a week.
Dziennik

Newzar can be emailed to you directly

Obligatory Tests for HIV

Fighting HIV

“We are planning to widen the basic set of tests for pregnant women or those who are trying to have a child,” said Dr Stanisław Radowiecki from a team of specialists working on the prevention of ‘vertical’ HIV, i.e. that form of HIV which is passed from mother to child. During their first gynaecologist appointment, patients should be asked to take a HIV test. Yesterday, the National Aids Centre started a campaign whose  main slogan is: “Give your child a chance. Not AIDS”. Approximately 50% of people infected with HIV in Poland are not aware of the fact that they are sick, and 30% of them are women. Every year about 70-100 women in Poland that are diagnosed with HIV give birth to a child. “Nowadays only 10% of pregnant women take tests for HIV and only 3% of them claim that they have been informed about the necessity of taking such a test,” said Dr Tomasz Niemiec from the Polish Association of Gynaecologists. If a pregnant woman is aware of the fact that she has HIV her child has almost a 100% chance of not being infected with the virus during delivery but she must see a consultant to learn how to protect her child. Free and anonymous tests for HIV can be taken in 24 special clinics in Poland. More information can be found on: www.aids.gov.pl.
Gazeta Wyborcza

Newzar can be emailed to you directly

Swine Flu in Poland

Polish Attack

The third case of swine flu in Poland has been confirmed. A 21-year-old man who recently returned to Poland from the United States is infected with the A/H1N1 virus. He is in hospital in Chorzów. How did the man discover that he might be infected with the virus? “He got a call from his friend from Washington saying that he is infected with A/H1N1. After the call, the man immediately reported to the doctor,” explains Jan Bondar, a spokesman for the Chief Sanitary Inspectorate. The 21-year-old man is now in the Hospital for Infectious Diseases in Chorzów. The man’s parents, who returned from the United States, are also in hospital. Employees from the Sanitary and Epidemiological Station in Kraków are trying to reach passengers from flight LH3322 from Munich to Kraków. An American infected with swine flu was on board this plane. So far a 58-year-old women is in an isolation ward in Mielec and being treated for swine flu. The woman recovered and was discharged last week. A 42-year-old man who returned to Wrocław from the USA was also treated for swine flu. On Monday he was discharged after one week in Kalisz hospital.
Dziennik

Newzar can be emailed to you directly

No Swine Flu in Poland

Everywhere There's Lots of Piggies

Swine flu has not reached Poland yet. The National Institute of Hygiene (PZH) has informed the public that samples taken from four patients suspected of having swine flu did not contain the A/H1N1 virus. So far 13 countries have reported laboratory-confirmed cases of swine flu. Soon after midnight it became known that four out of the five people suspected of having swine flu were not infected with the virus. The suspected patients were a 29-year-old student from Łódź deported from the USA, an 8-year-old girl who returned from Mexico 10 days ago and a Canadian citizen of Polish descent. Fortunately, all the patients were free from the swine flu virus. People returning to Poland from Mexico, USA and Canada are dealt with special caution. The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that there are 331 laboratory-confirmed cases of swine flu and 10 people have died of the virus. However, the Mexican authorities have informed the public that 16 people have already died of swine flu in their country.
Dziennik

Newzar can be emailed to you directly

Poland Prepared for Swine Flu?

Bigger Problem

According to the Polish Health Minister Ewa Kopacz everything is under control. But is it? All the Polish Ministry of Health has done in this matter is decide to distribute leaflets at Polish airports about how to recognise flu symptoms and where to go in case of infection. However, it transpires that no one has even attempted to determine who has actually arrived from Mexico. Interestingly, the World Health Organisation suggests that a country have medical supplies considered to be most effective for at least 20 percent of its population; however, Poland has only 5 percent. According to Dziennik, only a stroke of luck will prevent the virus from coming to Poland.

Determining the Possible Threat
First of all, neither the Polish Foreign Ministry nor the Central Statistical Office of Poland (GUS) knows how many Poles are staying in Mexico at this moment in time and it is those people who actually constitute a possible source of infection. Piotr Olszyński, a counsellor at the Polish embassy in Mexico admits they “do not have this data, because nobody has asked us to collect it”. Clearly, Poles returning from Mexico arrive by planes, therefore, airports are the only barrier to stop the virus, and at the same time, the weakest link in the chain of protection. At no Polish airport does anyone seek passengers who began their journey in Mexico and stopped in various places on their way home to Poland.

Vicious Circle of Incompetence
This case is paradoxical. Jakub Mielniczuk of Polish Airports claims “there is no such data in our computer system”. However, Marek Poławski, a director at LOT Ground Services (LGS), which deals with luggage at the airport, claims such data can be collected in a crisis situation: “it is on a passenger’s luggage. One just needs to order the staff to discover where baggage comes from and who it belongs to”. Polish Airports could have instructed LGS to do so, but it has not been asked to by GUS. However, the latter did not know about this method before and was informed of it by Dziennik only.

Ignorance of the Danger
Furthermore, the Government Centre for Security personnel know of the afore-mentioned method, but do not use it, because “the threat is not so serious yet,” says Dr Przemysław Guła. Moreover, people with possible symptoms of swine flu, e.g. coughing, are to be stopped by officers of the border patrol, who admit that they have not been properly instructed how to determine whether or not a person is infected. Finally, if, or rather when, swine flu crosses the border and arrives in Poland, doctors will be completely helpless as they do not know what to do with infected people, because they have not received any instructions whatsoever from the Health Ministry. Thus, are we prepared as well as Ms Kopacz claims?
Dziennik

Newzar can be emailed to you directly

Poland Prepares for Pig Flu

Dangerous Pigs

The extremely dangerous pig flu virus is crossing borders and is quickly spreading throughout the world. Recent sources report people suffering from the symptoms in Europe also. Therefore, it is only a matter of time when it will arrive in Poland. The Polish Health Minister Ewa Kopacz claims “we are prepared for the virus strike”. She also notes that “at all Polish airports leaflets are given to passengers informing them of the possible symptoms and instructing them where to go in case of infection”. She is reassuring the public that, up to now, there has been no case associated with the Mexico crisis. Nevertheless, on Monday April 27th at 2 pm, a government-formed crisis management board will convene in order to discuss how to prepare for hospitalising the infected and to estimate the risk of the virus coming to Poland. The Health Ministry, meanwhile, advises Poles to postpone any trips to Mexico, the USA, or Canada. In Mexico, the hitherto unknown virus has already killed 81 people; over 1,300 are infected. Moreover, the number of infections in the USA is increasing dramatically and increasingly more people are hospitalised in Europe.
Dziennik

Newzar can be emailed to you directly

Swine Flu to Hit Poland

Dangerous Virus

Swine flu which is currently killing many people on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean will soon reach Poland, according to Wiesław Rozbicki from the Regional Sanitary and Epidemic Station in Warsaw. “Because of planes, swine flu virus may reach Poland sooner than everybody thinks. Especially as swine flu, contrary to bird flu, is transmitted by humans,” says Rozbicki. He is of the opinion that potential hosts are not only passengers of planes flying from Mexico or South America, where the virus is currently rampant, but also everybody who has recently been on any plane. “You can never exactly tell with whom you have had contact at an airport,” adds Rozbicki.
Dziennik

Newzar can be emailed to you directly