The number of people infected with the coronavirus is growing rapidly. This raises concerns about the efficiency of the Polish health service. The facilities begin to lack specialist equipment, and often also medical personnel. According to experts, Personnel Service could help, among others employing more medics from Ukraine. Unfortunately, despite the fact that the simplified employment procedure is in force, only a few dozen doctors from the East decide to come to Poland each year. The interest could be higher, but medics are deterred by the costly and complicated process of recognizing professional qualifications, which takes more than 1.5 years in total.

According to the ‘Profession Barometer 2020’, a cyclical survey by the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy, the largest staff shortages in Poland concern the service, construction and medical-care sectors. Hospitals and facilities located outside the largest Polish metropolises, which are currently experiencing a shortage of doctors, nurses, midwives, physiotherapists and carers for the elderly and disabled, have problems in finding specialists.

Qualified employees from Ukraine, after coming to Poland, often work below their qualifications. The ‘Polish Labor Market Barometer’ of the Personnel Service shows that as many as three out of four Ukrainians work in lower-level positions, despite the fact that even half of these people have higher education.

(WBJ)