Warsaw court rules medical facilities must keep scheduled appointment times, not treat them as guidelines.
Patient Rights and Delays: Appointment Time is Not Just a Suggestion
Medical facilities must actually keep appointment times and not treat schedules as guidelines. The Administrative Court in Warsaw has confirmed the position of the Ombudsman for Patient Rights, according to which booking patients for imprecise, ‘approximate’ times may lead to violations of their statutory rights.
Facility Inspection: Every Fifth Medical Appointment Delayed or Cancelled
The proceedings concerned the organization of work in one facility where regular delays in receiving patients occurred. In extreme cases, appointments did not take place at all, as the doctor finished work before seeing all registered patients.
During the inspection, it turned out that almost every fifth appointment did not take place as scheduled. Although patients received information about a specific time during registration, in practice the schedule was often not implemented.
Can a Doctor Justify Delays by Blaming Other Patients?
In the facility’s opinion, such action was justified – for example, delays caused by patients. On the other hand, the Ombudsman for Patient Rights considered that this indicates a lack of due diligence in organizing health services.
According to the office’s assessment, random situations causing time shifts are acceptable, but planning appointments with the assumption that reception times will not be met is inconsistent with patient rights. This can lead to both excessive waiting and the complete failure to provide service.
Obligations of the Medical Entity in Organizing Doctors’ Work
The Administrative Court in Warsaw held the same view. In its ruling of January 27, 2026 (case no. V SA/Wa 2871/25), it indicated that the medical entity has the obligation to plan the work of doctors in such a way that the number of patients and the scope of services provided are adapted to the available time.
When is a Doctor’s Delay a Violation of the Law?
In the court’s opinion, the lack of proper balance of these elements leads to chronic delays that cannot be justified by the specifics of the doctor’s work. The appointment schedule should reflect the actual capabilities of the facility, not shift the consequences of poor organization onto patients and violate their rights.
