A critical failure in Poland’s emergency number 999 system has caused severe delays and operational chaos, with medical dispatchers unable to handle life-threatening calls efficiently due to a non-functional database server.
Major System Failure Overnight
A serious outage in the SWD PRM emergency support system occurred overnight, affecting emergency call handling, medical team status tracking, and the dispatch of rescue missions. The Polish Union of Medical Rescue confirmed the incident.
Dramatic Delays in Life-Threatening Cases
According to medical dispatchers, a call regarding cardiac arrest waited over 13 minutes in the queue before being addressed, as the system failed to register it. Emergency services reported that location maps for rescue teams were non-functional, and all services except the ambulance were engaged in the incident.
Health Ministry Response
The Ministry of Health issued a statement at 13:00, confirming a server failure in the State Medical Rescue Command System. It emphasized that emergency number 999 remains operational, with calls being manually transferred to medical dispatchers from number 112. Procedures are being followed, but the issue traces back to systemic failures.
Source: Gazeta, https://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/polska/7
