Millions are missing for psychiatry. Children and adolescents wait for help for up to a year.

• The budget for psychiatry requires additional tens of millions of zlotys per year.
• Mental health problems among Poles cost the economy approximately 3% of GDP.
• Private foundations invest in child psychiatry, but it is still not enough.

The government declared in May that it would allocate PLN 4.2 billion for psychiatry in 2025. Including this money in the National Health Fund's budget, the final amount remains unclear, but estimates suggest over PLN 7 billion. And that's still not enough. By comparison, oncology will receive approximately PLN 10 billion.

It's also worth recalling the costs associated with mental disorders in the Polish economy. According to OECD estimates, they amount to approximately 3% of our GDP.

Piotr Bujak, Chief Economist at PKO Bank Polski, noted during a debate on the mental health of children and youth organized by PKO and the TVN Foundation that spending on social benefits, such as sickness benefits and other forms of support related to absenteeism, accounts for just under 1 percent of GDP. He added that there are also indirect costs, primarily resulting from lost productivity.

Due to mental health issues, a portion of the population cannot work or participate in the workforce, generating an "opportunity cost." This is particularly true for young people struggling with mental health issues.

- he explained.

There is a lack of quick access to psychiatrists within the public health system, and months of waiting for psychotherapy reimbursed by the National Health Fund (NFZ) are standard (according to data from the National Health Fund's information sheet, in some facilities the average waiting time in August 2025 is around 54-67 days). Yet, a mental health crisis often requires immediate action – especially when it comes to children's mental health.

The study of the mental state of children and adolescents after the COVID-19 pandemic (EZOP II) showed that up to 14% of them required psychiatric care.

Cezary Żechowski, a psychiatrist, MD, PhD, noted that in many healthcare facilities, children and adolescents wait for help for over a year.

Although new technologies are emerging, including artificial intelligence-based tools , which can support habits and routines that help cope with problems, many children and adolescents withdraw into solitude, which only deepens the difficulties in coping with everyday life.

- he said and added that there is no other solution to these problems than funding psychiatry.

Researchers and practitioners both in Poland and in Europe agree that there are definitely too few specialists - child psychiatrists, child psychologists, as well as people working in education who could support children at an early stage.

We asked Dr. Żechowski if training teachers in psychology would significantly reduce the burden on the mental health system, and he replied yes.

If teachers could recognize disorders in students, e.g. ADHD, it would be a significant support and shorten the diagnostic process

- he pointed out and added that teachers themselves often also need support.

The TVN Foundation recently funded a Psychiatry and Oncology Center at the Children's Health Center in Warsaw, investing PLN 35 million. Additionally, it recently built 30 psychiatric offices in healthcare facilities.

The president of the Foundation , Zuzanna Lewandowska, when asked whether they planned to allocate funds to support children and young people in schools, admitted that the foundation focuses on implementing projects exclusively in medical facilities and building new psychological offices.

When asked if the Foundation covers the salaries of psychologists and psychiatrists, which constitute the largest expense in this case, she replied that the hospital covers the fees , and the Foundation provides the office equipment. However, she did not rule out providing grants to non-governmental organizations that provide free psychological consultations.

Together with the PKO BP Foundation, we will also focus on allocating grants to non-governmental organizations that provide free psychological care to those in need.

- she added.

Both foundations will ultimately allocate PLN 4 million to support psychological and psychiatric support for children and adolescents. Krzysztof Dresler, Vice President of the Management Board of PKO Bank Polski, encourages Poles to contribute and participate in the Charity Run, which will take place on September 13th at athletics stadiums across Poland.

Psychiatry in Poland is a systemic problem that, at this point, seems impossible to solve. When asked how much money needs to be poured into this sector to prevent the situation from worsening, Piotr Bujak stated that we're talking about tens to hundreds of millions of złoty per year.