The Ministry of Health responds to the shocking report on psychiatry. Prepares rules for duty in psychiatric hospitals

The Ministry of Health has declared that in the coming days a position will be sent to hospitals to organize the rules for 24-hour duty, taking into account the provisions of the law, the specialization program and the safety of patients and doctors – the Residents' Agreement announced on Tuesday.

Representatives of the Residents' Agreement of the National Trade Union of Doctors met on Monday with the Minister of Health Jolanta Sobierańska-Grenda and Deputy Minister Katarzyna Kęcka to talk about the working conditions of doctors in psychiatric specialization.

The meeting was related to the report that the Residents' Agreement made public at the beginning of October. Doctors described staff shortages during 24-hour shifts in psychiatric hospitals.

The report was based on data from 825 surveys completed by doctors specializing in adult psychiatry, working 24 hours a day, and specialists working for up to five years after completing their training. 80 percent respondents admitted that they did not feel safe while on duty. This is due to, among others, too many patients treated by doctors. Every fifth young psychiatrist takes care of over 300 patients during his shift. 16 percent – 50.

Based on the report, the residents prepared recommendations which they appealed to the Ministry of Health to implement.

On Tuesday, the Residents' Agreement sent a message informing about the meeting's arrangements.

“The Ministry has declared that within the next few days it will send a position to hospitals regulating the rules for 24-hour duty, taking into account the provisions of the law, the specialization program and the safety of patients and doctors on duty. We hope that this position will clearly oppose common and extremely dangerous situations – such as a single doctor taking care of several hundred patients. We are waiting for the letter and will comment on whether it meets our expectations.” – said the organization.

The Chairman of the Residents' Agreement, Sebastian Goncerz, emphasized that doctors are pleased that the dialogue has started at the ministerial level, but at the same time they are concerned that these actions may prove to be insufficient and too slow, considering the scale of the problem.

“We maintain our opinion that the current situation during shifts in psychiatric hospitals is dangerous, requires decisive legislative action by decision-makers and that is what we expect. A patient in a psychiatric hospital deserves decent and safe care around the clock,” they emphasized in the statement.

Doctors from the Residents' Alliance demand the introduction of regulations that will limit the maximum number of patients under the care of one doctor during specialization during 24-hour shifts to one hundred people. Other demands include: the obligation to have a specialist doctor on duty or on call with the need to travel; introduction of the obligation to have at least one heart monitor per ward in the basket regulations.

The Ministry of Health emphasized last week that psychiatry remains one of its priorities. It also recalled that the financial resources in the plan for 2026 in the field of psychiatric care and addiction treatment are higher than in the plan for 2025 by over PLN 1.75 billion, and from the Medical Fund, over PLN 3 billion will go to 53 centers throughout Poland for psychiatry infrastructure. Support is provided for 44 investments up to PLN 50 million and 9 investments worth over PLN 50 million. (PAP)

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