Poland, one of the central European countries has a population of about 40 million, 7.4% of whom aged 60 and over. The number of elderly in Poland is expected to rise dramatically to 16% by 2020. The health status of Poland’s middle aged and elderly population is not satisfactory; there is high mortality from cardiovascular disease and malignancies. Poor health status results in higher consumption of health care especially by the elderly. For all mentally ill people there are about 2000 psychiatrists in university psychiatric clinics, psychiatric departments and in ambulatory practice. A very small number of psychiatrists are qualified in gerontopsychiatry. Continuing education of psychiatrists and gerontopsychiatrists is offered by psychiatric clinics and at postgraduate medical schools, as well as by the Polish Psychiatric Association and Section of Psychogeriatry and Alzheimer’s disease, Polish Psychiatric Association. Psychiatric care for the elderly is currently under discussion and a new concept of care for the elderly is prepared. The network of outpatient departments acting in cooperation with community nursing agencies should be enlarged and the capacity of geriatric beds, especially chronic ,should be increased by transformation of other hospital beds. Memory clinics, aimed at early diagnosis, therapy and rehabilitation for patients with dementia are planned. The first center of this kind in Scinawa(Lower Silesia Province) for Alzheimer patients will be opened soon. The journal “Annual Psychogeriatrics” has been published since 1998. In 2003 this journal will be issued quarterly as the name” Polish Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry”. An important role is played by the non-goverment Polish Foundation of Alzheimer’s Disease and self-service organizations of families of Alzheimer’s patients. The first organization of this kind was founded in Lower Silesia in 1991, the Lower Silesiae Alzheimer Association Family Support. The Gerontopsychiatric Section of Polish Psychiatric Society became an institutional member of IPA in 1997.
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