Polish doctors march for health care funding
Hundreds of doctors march with a banner that calls for more funds from the gross national product to be spent on the strapped health care service in Warsaw, Poland, on June 1.
June 1, 2019
WARSAW, Poland — Hundreds of doctors marched Saturday through Poland’s capital to demand health care funding.
Polish media say people have died waiting to be admitted to the hospital. Some wards are slated to close due to a shortage of doctors and nurses.
The protesters carried banners that read “We want to treat patients in Poland” and “Stop deaths in waiting lines” as they marched from the Health Ministry to parliament. They left a petition demanding 6.8% of Poland’s gross national product be spent on health care. The conservative government aims to spend 6% by 2024, a plan that came after massive health care protests in 2017. The protesters say more efforts are needed.
“Patients are really dying waiting for treatment. We will continue our protests,” said Dr. Krzysztof Bukiel, head of a doctors’ union.
