Joint development of rehabilitation services at municipal's hospitals in Bialystok and Volodymyr

Despite the differences in the functioning of the public health care systems in Poland (PL) and Ukraine (UA), health care units on both sides of the border face similar problems. There is a shortage of both equipment and medical staff. A particularly difficult situation is noticeable in the field of: - rehabilitation services in both hospitals - the increased need for rehabilitation services results from the armed conflict in UA and the aging population on both sides of the border. - in PCK’s wards - Internal Medicine with a Cardiac and Gastroenterology profiles – the growing number of patients in the wards results from, among others, the large number of Ukrainian refugees staying in Bialystok and the fast and stressful lifestyle of the borderland inhabitants, which leads to an increased number of heart diseases and problems with the digestive system and intestines. - psychological support for patients in difficult situation - some of patients who are placed on hospital are frustrated by the diagnosis received or the lack of progress in treatment. They are very often single people who can’t count on the support of family or relatives. The depression, apathy and neurosis that patients are suffering from is not helpful for their treatment. For such people, the treatment process is prolonged and, consequently, hospital costs increase. The situation requires intervention and support to health systems on both sides of the border. The analysis of the situation showed that it is important to support hospitals to improve diagnostic and treatment processes. In response to all this problems Partners decided to jointly implement a project aimed at improving access to high quality medical services at both facilities through: - investment in infrastructure and equipment, which will benefit patients and hospital staff. There is a need to renovate 3 wards in PCK hospital: Rehabilitation clinic, Internal Medicine with a cardiac and Gastroenterology profiles. These wards receive the largest number of patients from the entire hospital. Patients will receive comprehensive care in the hospital. First, thanks to modern equipment, they will be properly diagnosed and treated. The new class of devices enables more accurate and precise diagnostics and therefore makes it easier for doctors to make a proper diagnosis and choose the right treatment. In next step, the doctor will select an appropriate package of rehabilitation services. This approach will mean that after being discharged from the hospital, the patient will not have to look for and wait for rehabilitation in another center. Finally treatment will take place in a comfortable enviorment. - improving staff competences in areas relevant to the needs of the units, with a particular focus on innovative methods in rehabilitation and pain management, through training courses and study visits for hospital staff - establishing long-term cooperation through the exchange of good practice among medical staff, creating the basis for teleconsultation between units, which will benefit patients and staff of the units - improving the IT infrastructure through the purchase of equipment and software, including for teleconsultation and the organisation of training courses on cyber-security, which will benefit hospital staff and patients. All activities implemented in the project will contribute to ensuring equal access to healthcare and increasing the resilience of healthcare systems in the project area. The above activities require cooperation between units located on both sides of the border due to: - the different competencies of the medical staff of the partners - the possibility to support the PL partner in the implementation by the UA side of a gait laboratory and the practical use of biomechanical variables in the identification and treatment planning of movement disorders, - the different approaches of both parties to the psychological care of patients, - growing threats in the area of cyber security.