Poland is losing its doctors

doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7510.235-a

BMJ 2005;331:235 (23 July), doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7510.235-a

Letter

Poland is losing its doctors

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—The political transition in formerly communistcountries has affected not only the health of their populationsbut also their healthcare systems.¹ Healthcare reform introducedin Poland in 1999 influenced the organisation of health care,but the working environment of Poland's doctors has not improved.Since Poland's accession to the European Union, many doctorshave left the country to look for jobs in west European countries,particularly the United Kingdom and Scandinavia (almost 500Polish doctors registered in the UK in 2004, 30 times as manyas in the previous year).

Why do so many doctors decide to leave their native countryafter democracy has been won?

Firstly, salaries are low, especially in hospitals—muchlower than the average salary in public institutions (in a publichospital, doctors typically earn about ${euro}$ 300 (£206; $362)per month after tax). This is not enough to live on, so doctors(particularly young ones) . . . [Full text of this article]