196 ambulances, 13 emergency outlets, 14 healthcare
centers, PLN 73.3m (EUR 19m) of sales in 2006 and PLN 516,000 of operating
income – this is the picture of Falck Medycyna, the only private company
offering emergency services in Poland. It wants to launch some dozen new
emergency outlets this year and buy two more healthcare centers. Today, Falck
has 6 percent of the Polish emergency market but it wants to have much more.
That’s why the company is not focusing on the healthcare centers
so far. The Danish firm has also given up the plans to build a hospital in
Poland. Falck was supposed to build one in Slupsk, jointly with local
authorities. Politicians decided they didn’t want a private investor.
“The situation was extremely difficult for us. Our owners agreed for this
investment and reserved funds. Suddenly, the whole issue collapsed for political
reasons”, Katarzyna Czajka, Falck Medycyna CEO said.
She
added that it’s extremely difficult for her company to cooperate with
state-owned healthcare fund officials. Only last year, Falck was controlled 198
times.