The condition of palliative care in Poland in 2014

This report was prepared based on the 2014 data from the National Health Fund, Medical Exams Center, Post-gradual Nurses and Midwives Education Center and information collected from voivodeship consultants. It contains the assessment of the general situation of palliative and hospice care, the number, and location of particular types of palliative care units, the number of beds in inpatient care per voivodeship, the patient age profile, doctors and nurses human resources, and it also presents a comparison of financing services in particular voivodeships. It has been demonstrated that the accessibility to specific forms of palliative care is uneven across the country, there are disparities in the density of units, expenditures per capita and accessibility to the services between the voivodeships. The number of home care units is satisfying, however, in some voivodeships this form of palliative care still needs development. The impediment against accessibility to home care is too little number of contracted services. The number of inpatient units and the number of beds per 100 thousands of inhabitants are insufficient, and only a few voivodeships reach satisfactory condition. The outpatient palliative care does not meet the necessary volume (too little number of units and uneven dispersion). The financial resources spent on palliative care in Poland are insufficient. The human resources situation may be regarded as satisfactory. The number of educational centers for professionals (doctors and nurses) grows from year to year.