History and organization of palliative care in Poland

Abstract

e20749 Beginning of the hospice care in Poland is associated with democratic opposition in the eighties of the XX century and social movement Solidarity. In 1978, C. Saunders visited Gdansk, Warsaw, and Krakow, supporting an organization of palliative care in Poland. Polish hospice care, similarly to other countries,originated from the necessity of special care of terminally ill cancer patients. Palliative care societies, initially informal, then registered formally, emerged in Poland in 1981. Hospices, both institutional and house hospice care, came into being in all larger cities in Poland to the nineties of the XX century. In 1991, National Forum of the Hospice Movement was founded. This Forum, gathering the majority of hospices, is actually transformed into the association of societies: Forum of the Polish Hospices. In the nineties of the XX century, professional palliative care developed. Since 1998, specialization in the palliative care for both physicians and nurses is available. From the very beginning, hospice care based on the volunteers gathered at the Roman Catholic parish and several priests first organized palliative care. In 1991, The Sejm (lower chamber of the Polish Parliament) passed the law Health care institutions, enabling various societies and associations to establish health care institutions, whereas the law The Social Insurance Act (1997) gives an opportunity to get financial means for hospice care from the State. Actually, there are hospices acting on voluntary service (the number of such hospices decreases), partial voluntary service and also paid employees, and institutions which activities are based on full-time employment and financed by the National Health Fund. About 130 non-profit societies and hospice foundations both secular andchurch exist in Poland. Non-public health care institutions founded 99 hospices. About 70 hospices (both public and private) are stationary. No significant financial relationships to disclose.