Silent liquidation of maternity wards. Demography is knocking on the doors of hospitals

By the end of the year, several dozen branches with very different profiles will be temporarily closed throughout Poland – informs “DGP” on Thursday. The newspaper emphasized that the greatest burden on hospitals are obstetrics and gynecology departments, and their closure is a consequence of the demographic crisis.

As the daily writes, obstetrics and gynecology departments will be closed, among others. in hospitals in the province Podkarpackie, Łódź, Greater Poland and Podlasie – including at SPZOZ in Bielsk Podlaski. As explained by the director of the facility, Piotr Selwesiuk, quoted in the article, the branch generated losses of PLN 4 million annually.

“It cannot be that there are three times as many doctors, midwives, nurses and cleaning workers in the ward as there are women giving birth. We had several, or at most a dozen or so, births a month. Our law is that even on days when there is no delivery, all staff must be involved in the maternity ward,” Selwesiuk said.

According to Jarosław Kozera, a health care expert, temporary cessation of operations, e.g. due to renovation or lack of staff, is
a conscious trick used by hospital directors to minimize losses.

– The phenomenon has recently intensified due to the fact that the National Health Fund does not settle its obligations and does not pay even for unlimited services. When the fund paid for overperformance, there were practically no temporary suspensions of operations – emphasizes the expert.

The Ministry of Health is trying to save the situation by proposing that hospitals set up birthing centers at hospital emergency departments or emergency rooms. The midwife on duty would assess whether to deliver the baby or redirect the patient to a specialist hospital.

However, few directors have the courage to admit that the fate of maternity wards, which dramatically indebt hospitals, is certain and their liquidation is only a matter of time. Only one application (from a hospital in the Łódź Voivodeship) states explicitly that the aim of the reconstruction of the obstetrics and gynecology department is to transform it into a geriatrics department – we read in DGP.

mt/piu/