Polish Hospital Crisis Hurts Children In Poland With Cancer

Warsaw, Poland 4 February, 2007 - Poland has money to pay for pigs and to build a church but it does not have money to treat Polish children with cancer. The Polish Government now must fix in five days what it has not been able to fix in the past year.

The Polish Hospital system was shocked when the courts ruled that hospitals had to pay their debts and an executor attached the bank accounts of a hospital that treats children with cancer.

The Government now must get money to the hospital to keep it operating. But that is difficult.

The Government recently donated 40 million zloty from the ZUS social insurance fund to help build the large church in Wilanow, Poland.

The Government has started to increase its reserves of pork by buying up to 80 thousand tons of pig meat. That money is not in the budget but will come out of a special reserve fund.

But, as of this writing, there is not enough money to get money to the hospital and to solve the hospital debt crisis. The Minister of Health, Zbigniew Religa, has, however, given his "word of honor" that everyone will be treated.

The crisis is getting huge media attention in Poland. People are responding and are making cash payments to help the cancer hospital.

The Catholic Church charity Caritas will donate. But they will only donate by making a bank transfer. Unfortunately, the executor has the hospital bank account attached and Caritas will not transfer until he releases his hold on it

So the priorities are important.

The donation to build the Church is important to the image of the Government. It needs a good image to maintain its popularity with its voter base.

Buying pigs is important because if they are not bought the Government coalition will fail and the ruling political party Law and Justice may lose control.

The excutor must be satisfied before the Church will help.

The Health Care system must be reformed, sometime, and preferably within the next five days, so that the hospital crisis can at least be reduced in scope.

Update 5 February, 2007

The debts of the hospital in question are over 300 million zloty. That is about 100 million dollars.

Because of press coverage such as this, foreign money is pouring into Poland to help the children. Thanks to anyone who has helped. And please spread the word.

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