The bill was unveiled by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Tuesday, state news agency PAP reported.
Morawiecki told reporters in Warsaw: “The Cabinet has adopted a bill to create a National Oncological Network.”
EUR 1.1 bn for cancer care
Morawiecki pledged that the government would channel more than PLN 5 billion (EUR 1.1 billion) until 2030 for the treatment of cancer, under th National Oncological Strategy, private broadcaster Polsat News reported.
He warned: “Cancer is a serial killer, reaping a very deadly harvest in Poland.”
He added that some 180,000 Poles were being diagnosed with malignant tumours every year.
Morawiecki told reporters: “We need to step up our efforts in cancer prevention and the earliest possible detection of cancer. Just as scientists and doctors are tasked with developing effective treatment methods, so it is the role of the state and the government to create a system that will make the most appropriate use of this knowledge and medicines.”
He declared: “We are determined to make sure that thanks to this new plan, access to cancer treatment will be as fair as possible and equal in every part of the country.”
Morawiecki said the National Oncological Network bill would be submitted to the lower house of parliament for deliberation “as soon as possible,” the PAP news agency reported.
Under the bill, health centres that meet certain criteria would provide “comprehensive cancer care” around the country, offering “standardised treatment, based on cooperation between specialists from various medical disciplines,” officials said.
Health Minister Adam Niedzielski said that the network’s overriding aim would be to ensure that every adult cancer patient in Poland, regardless of their place of residence, “is guaranteed cancer care based on the same standards for diagnostics and therapy,” the PAP news agency reported.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, polsatnews.pl