In brief

• The regulation of the President of the National Health Fund on mental health centres is to be issued at the beginning of November.
• The centres were to become a systemic element of care from 1 January 2027, and the ministry is considering a transitional period until the first quarter.
• In November, a draft regulation standardising the organisational standard of the centres went to public consultation.

The last missing element of the reform

The Ministry of Health announces that the regulation of the President of the NFZ governing mental health centres will be published at the beginning of November, as the ministry informed PAP (Centra zdrowia psychicznego miały ruszyć systemowo od stycznia. Resort rozważa jednak okres przejściowy - PKB – pkb24.pl) (Ministerstwo zdrowia o centrach zdrowia psychicznego: zarządzenie planowane na początek listopada – rynekzdrowia.pl). The ministry treats it as the last missing element in implementing the adult psychiatry reform.

Start from 1 January and a transitional period

According to the plan, from 1 January 2027 the centres were to become part of the healthcare system, and every patient would receive an individual plan for treatment and recovery (Od 1 stycznia 2027 r. zmiany dla pacjentów. Nowe plany leczenia – portalsamorzadowy.pl). The ministry stresses that such a decision would not mean abandoning the reform (Zarządzenie dot. CZP planowane a początek listopada – mp.pl).

In November, a draft regulation of the Minister of Health standardising the organisational standard of the centres went to public consultation. The document obliges healthcare entities to apply it and provides for a gradual reduction of the number of places in round-the-clock wards in favour of treatment closer to the patient's home (Standard organizacyjny w centrach zdrowia psychicznego. Jest nowy projekt rozporządzenia Ministra Zdrowia w tej sprawie - GazetaPrawna.pl – gazetaprawna.pl).

Eight years of pilot programme

The centres have operated for eight years as a pilot programme, which has been extended many times. The model is based on community psychiatry: psychological and psychiatric help is to be available close to where people live, and hospitalisations are to be short and used only when necessary. According to the ministry's data, 49 percent of Polish adults currently use this option.

Figures

• Duration of the pilot programme: 8 years
• Share of adults covered by the centres' care: 49 percent
• Planned systemic start: 1 January 2027