STATEMENT BY AMETHYST POLSKA REGARDING THE RADIOTHERAPY CENTER IN ZGORZELEC

In connection with media reports informing about the problems of the Multi-Specialty Hospital in Zgorzelec in obtaining a contract for the provision of radiotherapy services, we would like to comment on the situation, especially since we, as an investor, remain a party to the discussion.

The need to create a modern radiotherapy center in the Zgorzelec region has been talked about for many years. As statistics show, residents of the so-called turoszowski sac are particularly at risk of cancer. Many years of devastating economy in Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany, regardless of the emission of pollutants into the atmosphere, led to an ecological catastrophe that covered the entire south-western part of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. This also applies to the huge, long-term carcinogenic impact of various substances on the inhabitants of this region. In the Zgorzelec region, the mortality rate from breast cancer is approximately three times higher than in the entire Lower Silesian Voivodeship, and the mortality rate from cervical cancer is almost six times higher.

Such a high incidence of cancer caused the local hospital to invest and still invest in the development of oncological diagnostics and therapy. The multi-specialty hospital in Zgorzelec runs oncological surgery and clinical oncology departments and has full diagnostic facilities. Hospital primary health care clinics provide an oncology package for 400 people. inhabitants. To be able to offer patients comprehensive oncological treatment, the hospital needed the last link - radiotherapy. It is also needed because currently patients from all over the region have to go for radiation treatments to Jelenia Góra or Legnica (the closest to the centers), and the travel time often exceeds 1,5 hours. Meanwhile, as European studies show, traveling to radiotherapy for more than 45 minutes is a common reason for patients to resign from undergoing treatment. Patients from the Zgorzelec region - of different ages, in different physical and mental conditions, with different family situations - are forced to commute if they want to start or continue treatment.

Together with the hospital in Zgorzelec and the district authorities, we intended to change this situation. Amethyst Radiotherapy is an international network of medical centers specializing in radiotherapy. We have extensive medical and investor experience, our centers operate in France, Romania, Austria, Italy and Poland. The Amethyst Radiotherapy Center has been successfully operating in Poland since December 2013 - a modern center operating in close cooperation with the Specialist Hospital. L. Rydygier in Krakow. Over 2,5 thousand people are treated there every year. oncology patients. Thanks to the cooperation of our specialists with the hospital, services under the National Health Fund and the implementation of the oncology package, patients are provided with a full range of oncological therapy and the most modern treatment standards in one place.

It was supposed to be similar with Zgorzelec. Before starting the investment, the hospital received initial assurances that radiotherapy services would be contracted as soon as the center was ready to accept patients. There was full agreement that radiotherapy in Zgorzelec was necessary. The management of the Multi-Specialty Hospital in Zgorzelec applied for the possibility of contracting radiotherapy. Unsuccessfully. Repeated talks with the National Health Fund and the Ministry of Health about including the Zgorzelec center in the group of Lower Silesian facilities providing radiotherapy have not yielded any results.

The current situation is very difficult for us. We are fully committed to the implementation of this investment, we invested PLN 60 million in the center, fully convinced that it will serve the Zgorzelec community. We have prepared and installed the latest generation equipment, including two state-of-the-art accelerators of world brands. We have employed and trained all medical staff, who have been waiting since May to be able to work and treat patients. Due to the decision of the Lower Silesian National Health Fund and the lack of flexibility in negotiations, we cannot act, and patients from the Zgorzelec region are still forced to travel arduously and often be separated from their loved ones for a long time. All this can be easily prevented - as long as the radiotherapy center in Zgorzelec receives a chance to receive treatment under the contract from the Fund.

From the point of view of an investor undertaking the construction of a medical center in Poland, this situation is doubly difficult. Each investment, especially one so expensive and implemented in cooperation with a public entity, is based on certain arrangements, previous analyzes and joint decisions. On financial calculations, but also on trust. When the center is ready but it is not possible to obtain a contract, the trust in decision-makers is put to a severe test, and the implementation of each subsequent investment of this type becomes questionable.

We are convinced that a solution can be found in the current situation that will take into account the needs of patients and allow us to use the potential of the Zgorzelec center for the benefit of the residents and the entire region. As an investor, we have completed our task and provided the Lower Silesian community with a modern medical facility that can be the pride of every city. We believe that she will fulfill her role and serve the sick and needy, instead of being just an example of misunderstood official scrupulousness.

Barbara Werchowiecka-Rusinek