So whats your opinion on the Polish health care system?

as a nurse myself, ive had mixed reviews on it, polish health care seems to be on a par with the uk....not that thats hard!! but one thing im really surprised at is the health care provided to the elderly. i visited one "nursing home" and left after a few minutes after an argument with the owners over personal care. 2 staff to look after 53 patients is far too much, also these patients(clients, it was private home) had various mental health issues which you cant expect the staff to fully understand how to deal with each one.

id like to know your experiences if any on this subject:)

Maybe not what you were meaning but it made me laugh.

oh though i havent had any problems yet... polish nurses dont deserve any pay rise!!!

My daughter is a UK nurse, and is horrified by the lack of hygiene on hospital wards. No wonder we have problems with MRSA. I had heard that Poland's hospitals are cleaner? I am fortunate enough not to have had to experience the interior of a hospital here.....but I have to say that from the outside the building looked like it needed medical care itself!!

I also heard that Polish nurses have to study for 5 years? While Uk nurses it's only 3...so it follows that the standard of nursing should be higher??

I have taken a trip to the dentist, and was very impressed....with his efficiency, competency and cleanliness. A big change from the "United Nations" NHS butchers I last attended in UK! The dentist here in Poland also spoke more English than the ones in my Uk practise....who spoke Swedish, pakistani, Urdu, Hindu, Swahili, and Double Dutch!

its 3 years to work as a general nurse, i.e those you meet in the hospital. though to specialise in something it takes 5 years.:)


i am also impressed by polish dentists, we both know how long and how bad the care is in the uk


this is problem throughout the world, though in britain the media have exposed this, which is a good thing because it means the nhs have to deal with it, or else it would be swept under the carpet

So are you saying MRSA is rife in Polish hospitals too?? I was led to believe that cleanliness was crucial here...and strictly observed?? Not that I'm planning any major surgery!

Thanks for clearing up the nursey training issue...I was told by a polish person that all nurses train here for 5 years...gave me that distinct inferior feeling...now I can regain a tiny crumb of my national pride! Oh, except on the dentist issue!

MRSA is actually rife in most countries, the uk NHS has actually been the only and first to combat it. though most measures are not good enough. for example, washing hands ect, yes it clears up most things, but MRSA is immune to boiled water and can live un-detected for long time. but MRSA is not a major killer, prvention is always better. so the uk and myself need some better training, we always ask why doctors are sent to fancy places for training, when really its us nurses which are on the frontline...

dtaylor, are there problems with C-Diff (Clostridium Difficile) and Norovirus in Poland currently? C-Diff is a huge problem here in the UK, yet less acknowledged than something like MRSA.

something that does impress me here is that you can request medical checks, and pay yourself for xrays and blood tests. My husband has RSI in his elbows after years of building houses, along with a bad back. He can't even play his guitar now! His GP in Wales turned him down for xrays, as he said it was general wear and tear, to be expected with age.....And if you're sitting there thinking he's 80...he's half that (ok, a bit more than half...but only a teensy bit!).

Nurses on the frontline?? My daughter has been working in casualty in Plymouth the last few weeks....harrowing stuff! I couldn't do it...I cry when I see a dead pigeon!

C-Diff??? Is that the tummy bug killing all the old folks in UK wards?

Well, it doesn't just affect the elderly, anyone who is generally unhealthly is at risk. Read about it here C-Diff. It shouldn't be confused with Norovirus, which is a violent stomach bug but requires no treatment (unless the patient becomes dehydrated). Norovirus is usually over in 48 hours, in that time period, C-Diff is only beginning.

if u need help with this, i can advise how to make your doctor listen. c-diff is really hard to be controlled, but it is treatable, im sure u have heard from ur doc, is many things, but i guess its c-diff....main reason, u cant leave toilet for long time;)

c-diff affects the bowel system. norovirus affects many different things, its more known as the **** and puke bug... this cannot be treated, id advise 3-4 days n bed, within running distance to the toilet. we have all been there. norovirus that is, though i have experienced norovirus first hand, it takes about a week to get over it

That's individual...I'm talking about the virus itself ;) Another thing about it is that it can creep up on you out of nowhere. As I said, no treatment but I have known people request anti-sickness injections while they've had it...best advice is take sips of water often and rest ;)

Anyway, C-Diff and Norovirus...problems with them in Poland? How are they dealt with?

Health care is dreadful in Poland and I have a lot of personal experience in this matter. I even visited a hospital once to visit my mother-in-law and it was just like an English hospital from the fifteenth century! If you are in hospital and you want health care you have to bribe the doctor and nurses or you will just lie there to die. Mind you, English hospitals are not much better.

The Polish Health care system is ok, but lately running short on staff. Doctors and specialists are fleeing the country for better pay in the UK and other W.E. countries(where doctors are in huge demand). My aunt (a doctor) was recently selected by the danish to move to denmark to work as a doctor. Other than this the quality is quite good. My aging family never complains about the quality of treatment/surgery. Though, often times they have to give bribes to get "in front of the line," unfortunately.

Sometimes it seems that the polish system is like the american one. If you have the money, you get treatment immediately. Maybe if poland semi-privatizes health care, they'll be able to pay the doctors more money to remain in the country. Or bring doctors in from russia for a few months to help alleviate the backlog of surgeries, like they did in the 90's when boris "pass me a drink" yeltsin was head of russia (but it may not work now with the EU).

My Polish grandmother is currently receiving care from an oncology unit in Poland. She's receiving pretty intensive care, with Xrays, CT scans and ultrasound every 2 weeks,

that's how her chemo is scheduled. I'm quite impressed with that. However I found that when I visited a Polish hospital with her last year, to pay for the CT scan which picked

up her tumour, the nursing staff were pretty rude - to ther people that is. The Radiologist was a friendly chap himself but we needed to pay for the scan as

it would have taken very long to get one otherwise. Otherwise I have at least one
doctor in the family in Poland and my younger cousin is studying medicine pretty much
following in my foodsteps although I studied med abroad.

I've worked with US, Canadian, South African, British, Bulgarian and Polish doctors
and I found the Poles to be on par with everyone else.

Polish doctors and nurses are fine but the public healthcare system in Poland is terrible.

They are as good as anyplace but they still haven't managed to cure Harry's case of inadequacy ;) (Queue Harry explaining how he is NOT feeling inadequate and trying desperately to prove his manhood.)

Oh and Harry dear I know you have missed me as I don't check into this circus much...I don't read the content of your posts (I'm not into oedipal musings) so any response here will be purely for your own amusement. I know that makes you soooo happy :) See you in a month or so if I get bored.

Kisses deary.