We currently have a waiting list of almost two years for patients seeking admission to the Long-Term Care Facility. I think that once the new facility is opened and starts admitting patients, the waiting list will at least be somewhat reduced.
When the hospital management was tasked by the Podkarpackie Voivodeship authorities with preparing, together with hospitals in Lviv and Ternopil, a cross-border project aimed at developing palliative, geriatric and long-term care and improving the quality of medical services for cancer patients, there were many concerns. The challenge was even greater because the project involved major infrastructure investments at several hospitals on both sides of the border: in Krosno, Lviv and Ternopil. There was little time to prepare and implement the investments, while the need for greater access to this type of care was growing.
We care for patients who have completed the diagnostic and treatment process, whether surgical or conservative, and no longer require hospitalisation. However, due to their overall health and disability, they need to stay around the clock in a specialist facility under the care of medical professionals. This is precisely the role of a Long-Term Care Facility. Our patients have various conditions: they may be recovering from strokes, cardiac arrest and successful resuscitation, accidents and injuries, or suffer from chronic conditions requiring constant specialist care.
For the Krosno hospital, establishing cooperation with the lead partner, the Clinical Hospital for Planned Treatment, Rehabilitation and Palliative Care in Lviv, was also a new experience, as the two institutions had not previously worked together. Meeting after meeting, the partners learned about each other’s strengths, weaknesses and potential for joining forces within a single project.
As part of the project, we are developing a palliative care ward, which did not previously exist for our oncology patients, as well as a radiology department. In these areas, we are pioneers.
We will have 40 additional beds, as well as home hospice teams that will visit people in their homes, those who need care but do not need to stay in hospital and can remain at home.
Following the renovation and adaptation of rooms in the so-called “old” hospital building on Grodzka Street in Krosno, the Long-Term Care Facility now offers better conditions for round-the-clock patient care and rehabilitation. New patient rooms and rehabilitation facilities have been created. The facility has also received specialist equipment, including:
- electric beds,
- wheelchairs,
- patient lifts,
- shower trolleys,
- vein and bladder scanners,
- phototherapy and laser therapy equipment,
- specialist rehabilitation equipment.
The new part of the facility includes:
- 13 patient rooms,
- 1 isolation room with a bathroom and anteroom,
- 3 bathrooms adapted for people with disabilities,
- 1 bathroom for staff.
The most important change, however, concerns the number of available beds, which will improve access to long-term care.
By increasing the number of beds from 55 to 70, we will be able to provide assistance to more people waiting for specialist care and respond more effectively to the needs of the residents of our region.
The new equipment, especially modern shower trolleys and electric beds, will make care more efficient and make it easier to look after patients. And many of them stay with us for several years.
An important part of the project is also the exchange of knowledge and experience. The partners have prepared a joint Polish-Ukrainian brochure entitled “Nutritional Care Standards for Dependent Patients.”
In the coming months, the Krosno hospital also plans to purchase an ambulance and a vehicle for transporting food. Due to the conditions in which Ukrainian healthcare facilities currently operate, it will take more time to see the full results of the investments in Lviv and Ternopil. The partners are nevertheless continuing work on the planned activities.
Krosno, Lviv and Ternopil have different needs, but thanks to the project they can share knowledge, experience and solutions that improve the quality of patient care.
The expansion of the Long-Term Care Facility at the hospital in Krosno was carried out as part of the project “Development of palliative, geriatric and long-term care and improvement of the quality of medical services for cancer patients in hospitals in Lviv, Ternopil and Krosno” (acronym CareLikeHome), co-financed by the Interreg NEXT Poland – Ukraine 2021-2027 Programme.
More information about the CareLikeHome project is available HERE.
