Cost of medical treatment in Poland? In particular, home visits from a nurse to change dressings

For several years I have had what I believe to be a pilonidal cyst. It is a not too uncommon condition whereby a cyst develops at the base of the spine / top of the buttocks.

It is a fairly uncomfortable condition; however, until a little while ago, I worked on my feet, whereas I now work on a computer - which aggravates the condition and can make it painful when sitting. As a result, I am thinking about whether or not to get surgery.

Ideally, I would go back to the UK and have it done there; however, due to the lengthy healing time, I would imagine this would be too problematic. As a result, I have looked into having surgery over in Poland. I think I have found prices for the operation, although I was wondering about the costs of after-care. The surgery will most likely require the removal of tissue in the area, and the best way for it to heal is to leave an open wound which heals from the inside out. This means that it needs to be packed with a dressing during the healing process, with that dressing needing to be changed at least once a day (maybe even twice).

I was wondering if anyone has any idea how much home visits from a nurse might cost to do this? I have been looking online, but my Polish is still very bad, so I am relying on Google translate, which seems to be making it difficult to find answers. The healing process supposedly takes about 8-10 weeks on average, so I might possibly need visits for that length of time - although it may be the case that I only needed this for a few days to a couple of weeks, if my partner was able to do it instead (this is possible but I think she would be worried about hurting me, plus it wouldn't be too pleasant - so it might be best to have a nurse to at least start things off).

So, if anyone had any idea how much a home visit from a nurse would cost to change a dressing then that would be great, although if anyone has any relevant information about anything else then that would be much appreciated too.

Thanks!

55-60 PLN per visit via a medical service in Krakow.

Merged:

Medicine prices increasing in Poland from 1st March

fakt.pl/polityka/lista-lekow-refundowanych-nowe-ceny-lekow-1-marca-zdrozeja-leki,artykuly,527296.html

Seems to be harsh.

That's one of the reasons so many Poles migrate to the UK or Germany and few go back (unless they are in a good health;). When government manages something, the cost will ALWAYS increase in long term. That's as sure as taxes ;)

its much easier to buy drugs over the counter in Poland, not sure if thats such a good thing.

It's true that there's a huge OTC meds culture in Poland. The main reason for this is that it's such a pain going to see an NHS doctor that most people choose to self-medicate. I don't think that there are dangerous drugs freely available, though. A pharmacist student of mine told me that they know the combinations of OTC drugs that might be abused, and refuse to sell them to customers, not that that is going to stop them.The worst part is that you can wait in the queue at the chemist's for ages while people have consultations with the pharmacist. If I see three old ladies in front of me, I leave.

If anything it's stricter than most places.


Tell me about it - pharmacies everywhere! I think it's a culture of prescribing as well as self-medication (whenever I go to the doctor I come out with a long list of prescribed stuff, most of which is unnecessary and I've known people getting antibiotics in PL for viral infections!); possibly hypochondria and also a developed pharmaceutical market. Plus things like Rutinoscorbin that some people swear by despite 50% of doctors acknowledging that it makes no difference.