POLES go for plan B as 40 hospitals line up for commercialisation
publication date: Apr 23, 2009
With parliamentary healthcare reform legislation blocked by president Lech
Kaczynski, the Polish government has
opted for the so-called plan B and introduced new rules which will
bypass the president and allow public sector hospitals to be
commercialised without his say-so. Within a month some 40 public sector hospitals have declared that they
intend to follow this route.
It is clear that a substantial number of Polish public sector hospitals will go down the commercialisation route. This will be good news for private outsource services, such as imaging and lab providers.
The move means that hospitals move from being run by a single appointed chief executive, who is often a political appointee, to being run by a board of directors in a limited company structure with a an additional supervisory board. By moving down this route, municipalities can cap their liabilities as it removes the hospitals’ debts from the local authority’s balance sheet and limits how much they can spend. The measures will also allow private companies to take a stake in hospitals, although it is not clear whether this will extend as far as a majority stake.
Polish operators say that commercialisation should make a huge difference to how hospitals are run. Instead of a single isolated individual taking major decisions with little support, it creates a group of people often with more experience of healthcare. Commercialised hospitals, with their limited ability to borrow, are also much more likely to make hard choices and opt for efficient cost effective outsource providers, rather than retaining the existing structure.
It is clear that a substantial number of Polish public sector hospitals will go down the commercialisation route. This will be good news for private outsource services, such as imaging and lab providers.
The move means that hospitals move from being run by a single appointed chief executive, who is often a political appointee, to being run by a board of directors in a limited company structure with a an additional supervisory board. By moving down this route, municipalities can cap their liabilities as it removes the hospitals’ debts from the local authority’s balance sheet and limits how much they can spend. The measures will also allow private companies to take a stake in hospitals, although it is not clear whether this will extend as far as a majority stake.
Polish operators say that commercialisation should make a huge difference to how hospitals are run. Instead of a single isolated individual taking major decisions with little support, it creates a group of people often with more experience of healthcare. Commercialised hospitals, with their limited ability to borrow, are also much more likely to make hard choices and opt for efficient cost effective outsource providers, rather than retaining the existing structure.