On Wednesday, November 9, a meeting of the Program Council of the Health Care Forum was held at the headquarters of the Ministry of Health. During the meeting, the key topics discussed included a summary of the XXXI Economic Forum. The Council also discussed the most important topics that should dominate the discussion at the upcoming European Congress of Local Governments, to be held on March 6-7, 2023 in Mikolajki, and the Economic Forum in Karpacz, which is scheduled for September 5-7, 2023.
The entire leadership of the Ministry of Health, headed by Minister Adam Niedzielski, graced the meeting of the FOZ Program Council with their presence. Also present were deputy ministers
ie: Piotr Bromber, Waldemar Kraska, Maciej Miłkowski, Marcin Martyniak and Director General of the Ministry of Health Blanka Wisniewska.
During the meeting, Minister Adam Niedzielski emphasized: The Health Care Forum was the culmination of activities carried out by the Ministry of Health at that time. The Health Care Forum is a much-needed event. An important element of the FOZ is the positioning of health in the space of the Polish economy, where it plays and will continue to play an increasingly important role. All the elements that are part of the health system will be the flywheel of the Polish economy in the coming years. It is worth noting that the Ministry of Health is guaranteed 7% of GDP in the annual budget. This is a part of the economy that will grow steadily, regardless of the turbulence in which the Polish economy may find itself. One of the dominant themes in next year’s debate on the health system will certainly be personnel and innovation.
After the opening speech by the Minister, the floor was taken by Mr. Jerzy Bochyński, Chairman of the Program Council of the Health Care Forum. The report submitted by the organizers of the Forum was fully accepted by the council, along with a proposal of topics for the upcoming European Congress of Local Governments. The proposal to create a Health Care Forum Report under the direction of the Institute for Eastern Studies Foundation was unanimously passed. During the meeting, attention was drawn to the attendance record of the Economic Forum and the path of the Health Care Forum. 5031 guests and 478 media representatives attended 471 events over the three days of the Forum.
In the context of the EKS, the Minister stressed the importance of the debate on preventive health care and the ownership supervision of medical facilities. During the discussion, Mr. Jacek Krajewski – President of the Federation of Healthcare Employers’ Associations Zielonogórskie Porozumienie Zielonogórskie – pointed out the complexity of the topic of preventive health care, the role of which should not be reduced to primary healthcare alone. A very important voice during the meeting was also spoken by Mr. Governor Konstanty Radziwill, who drew attention to the need to expand the topic of preventive health care to include patients suffering from chronic diseases. Mr. Andrzej Mądrala, a member of the Council of Employers of the Republic of Poland, also added his voice to the discussion, requesting the introduction of topics on the role of the employer in the health care system to the agenda of the FOZ topic during the European Congress of Local Governments. What impact can an employer have on an employee’s health?
Members of the Program Council agreed that the next meeting will be held at the end of February 2023.