Implementation of Mental Health Centres Pilots in Poland since 2018: A Chance to Move towards Community-Based Mental Health Services

Anna Sagan, Iwona Kowalska-Bobko, Daria Biechowska, Maciej Rogala and Małgorzata Gałązka-Sobotka
Additional contact information
Anna Sagan: European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, London School of Economics and Political Science, London WC1H 9SH, UK
Iwona Kowalska-Bobko: Institute of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Jagiellonian University Medical College, 31-066 Kraków, Poland
Daria Biechowska: Department of Public Health, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, 02-957 Warszawa, Poland
Maciej Rogala: Institute of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Jagiellonian University Medical College, 31-066 Kraków, Poland
Małgorzata Gałązka-Sobotka: Institute of Healthcare Management, Faculty of Economics and Management, Lazarski University, 02-662 Warszawa, Poland

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 9, 1-11

Abstract: Provision of mental health care in Poland has long been characterised by an overreliance on psychiatric hospitals and the underdevelopment of community care. The introduction of the first National Mental Health Protection Programme for 2011–2015, with the explicit goal to base provision of mental care on the community mental health centres, failed to achieve any tangible results. The ensuing critique led to the launch of the second National Mental Health Protection Programme for 2017–2022 and the establishment, from mid-2018 onwards, of 41 (33 in operation) mental health centres across Poland. These will be piloted until the end of 2022 but have already shown positive results in terms of access to non-stationary care and a small fall in hospitalisations. They have also performed well during the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing for a quick reorganization of care and continued provision of mental health services. Some of the key innovations of the new model include the introduction of recovery assistants (a new profession) and mental health coordinators (a new role); liaison with social assistance services; and a shift to budget financing. The key obstacles to the national rollout of mental health centres are the low financing of mental health care in Poland, which is among the lowest in Europe, and acute workforce shortages.

Keywords: mental health; healthcare; coordination; integrated care; Poland (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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