Under insurance from the National Health Fund (Narodowy Fundusz Zdrowia, NFZ), patients are entitled to long-term care, including nursing and care services provided in medical centres or at home, as well as palliative and hospice care.
These centres are not social welfare homes, so they cannot admit individuals solely for their difficult social condition.
Nursing and care services
The qualification of patients for long-term care includes the evaluation with the so-called Barthel scale, which recognises the need for care of other people. The considered factors include the ability to perform everyday functions such as eating, moving around, getting dressed, preserving personal hygiene and using the toilet.
Nursing and care services are provided in:
- nursing care centres,
- care and treatment centres,
- care and treatment centres for children and youth,
- by long-term home care teams,
- under long-term nursing care.
Care in a treatment centre
The nursing care and care and treatment centres provide 24/7 treatment for patients who do not require further hospitalisation after receiving hospital treatment and complete diagnosis.
The motion for treatment in such centres is filed by the family physician or the hospital physician.
The care and treatment centres cannot admit patients in terminal disease stage or patients with mental illnesses.
Importantly, the National Health Fund finances health treatment, but the costs of food and accommodation need to be covered by the patient.
Patients with respiratory failures, who require respiratory assistance, but not a therapy at an intensive therapy ward, can be qualified for care of mechanically ventilated patients – at the centre or at home.
Long-term nursing care
Long-term nursing care is provided to bedridden and chronically ill individuals staying at home. The motion for such care is filed by a general health care physician or the case physician in the hospital.
This type of care is not addressed to patients with advanced stages of mental illness and in the terminal phase of cancerous diseases.
A nurse provides care Monday to Friday between 8 AM and 8 PM, as well as on days off in medically justified cases. The minimum frequency of the visits is 4 times per week.
The duration of the care is conditioned by the patient’s state, but cannot exceed 6 months.
Palliative and hospice care
Palliative care is extensive care of patients suffering from incurable diseases near the end of their lives.
Palliative and hospice care can be provided by the following centres:
- palliative medicine wards,
- full-time hospices,
- home hospices (for adults and children),
- palliative medicine clinics.
Palliative care mainly covers pain relief, nursing, and the mitigation of mental and spiritual suffering. The patients are referred to full-time hospices by physicians. They can be referred to home hospices (based on a doctor’s referral) by other people as well.
Palliative medicine clinics provide counselling or home visits with maximum frequency of two times per week. Patients who require more frequent visits or permanent care in their homes should be referred to home hospices.
Every patient referred to the centre in his or her terminal stage must receive care.
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