Poland's Health Minister Adam Niedzielski said at a press conference on Wednesday that non-COVID patients should not worry about postponement of scheduled surgeries, as the changes are only temporary and will depend on individual decisions of doctors.
On Tuesday, the minister decided to partially limit scheduled surgeries, in order to designate part of medical staff to temporary COVID-19 hospitals.
Mr Niedzielski expressed his hope "that the perspective of that decision will only two, three weeks". He said that more doctors will be needed during the peak of the third wave of the pandemic.
Asked if, based on the said decision, COVID-19 patients would be treated with priority, he said "absolutely not".
"We have approximately 26,000 beds devoted to COVID patients. The whole health care system has nearly 180,000 beds, therefore creating a sense of danger in non-COVID patients is just smoke and mirrors" said the minister. "All changes are meant for two weeks only" - he added.
Mr Niedzielski stressed that decisions regarding temporary suspension or postponement of surgeries would depend on individual doctors' decision. "We're not considering suspending all surgeries".
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, PAP
Źródło zdjęcia głównego: TVN24