Inspectors Enter Municipal Hospital as Findings Trigger Avalanche of Decisions

A municipal audit at Southern Hospital in Warsaw uncovers severe organizational, financial, and staffing irregularities, prompting swift dismissals, sweeping investigations, and structural overhauls.

Severe Organizational and Staffing Irregularities

An inspection conducted at Southern Hospital revealed serious organizational, financial, and staffing problems. Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski announced the implementation of changes, expanded supervision over municipal facilities, and the transfer of findings to relevant institutions.

An audit carried out at the Warsaw Southern Hospital revealed instances of personnel working continuous shifts lasting 48, 60, and 72 hours. The longest documented work period reached 110 hours, representing nearly five days without a break. These details were presented by Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski during a press conference dedicated to the audit results.

Such prolonged work by medical personnel raises questions not only regarding proper accounting, but also concerning patient safety and the ability of doctors to make decisions after dozens of hours of uninterrupted duty. The findings of the municipal inspectors align with a broader picture of problems previously described by the Supreme Audit Office (NIK). NIK revealed that one doctor worked 304 hours and 30 minutes in a single month, while a nurse worked 249 hours.

The NIK inspection covered the hospital’s operations from 2022 to 2025. The office noted that staff overload may increase the risk of adverse events and lower the quality of services. It also stated that general surgery and internal medicine departments employed fewer people than reported in documentation submitted to the National Health Fund.

Emergency Department Coordinator Without a Formal Function

One of the key findings of the municipal audit is the absence of a formally established function for the coordinator of the Hospital Emergency Department (SOR). According to Rafał Trzaskowski, the position, which held critical importance for organizing the work of the emergency department, did not exist in the facility’s structure in a manner corresponding to the tasks actually performed and the scope of responsibility.

Dawid Kacprzyk, a doctor, former Civic Coalition councilor, and specialist in training in anesthesiology, was presented precisely as the SOR coordinator. Previously disclosed data indicated that in 2025, he logged 3,976 working hours at Southern Hospital, averaging 331 hours per month and nearly 11 hours per day, including Sundays and holidays. He achieved an income exceeding 1.6 million PLN from medical activities during this time.

Dawid Kacprzyk simultaneously provided services in other Warsaw facilities as well. An inspection of his schedules at Bródnowski Hospital revealed inconsistencies in the documentation. According to Onet, the doctor reportedly worked 732 hours there over 125 days. Following internal proceedings, he returned 80,000 PLN to the facility.

Invoices Exceeding 558 Thousand PLN Under Investigation

The District Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw is conducting two separate proceedings concerning Southern Hospital. The first involves suspected fraud against the facility in the exact amount of 558,558.70 PLN. Investigators are examining whether the settlements presented unreliable invoices containing false information regarding the doctor’s working time.

The second investigation has a broader scope. It concerns the suspected abuse of authority or failure to perform duties by individuals responsible for supervising the municipal hospital. The prosecutor’s office is analyzing, among other things, the method of concluding contracts, checking invoices, organizing emergency department operations, and complying with triage rules. Documentation has been secured for the proceedings, witness interviews have begun, and some operations were carried out by officers of the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau. Over 50 individuals were announced to be interrogated.

Dawid Kacprzyk corrected 33 invoices and attempted to transfer approximately 500,000 PLN to the hospital. However, the facility returned the funds due to the lack of legal and accounting possibilities to properly credit this payment. The doctor lost his job at Southern Hospital, resigned from his membership in the Civic Coalition, and relinquished his mandate as a district councilor in Ursus.

Patients Admitted Out of Turn and Emergency Department Irregularities

The inspections began following media publications regarding the operating rules of the emergency department. Portal Zero described accounts according to which individuals associated with the Civic Coalition were allegedly admitted to the department outside the standard queue. These reports require evaluation by the bodies conducting the proceedings. Meanwhile, the audit was intended to determine whether uniform patient admission procedures were applied, who issued decisions, and how their implementation was documented.

NIK previously revealed that limited planned admissions also took place at the emergency department, even though the emergency unit is intended for individuals in a state of sudden health or life threat. The department management argued that planned patients were not included in the queue of people requiring urgent assistance. However, the office concluded that such a practice could conflict with the primary tasks of the emergency department.

A separate thread concerns the settlement of services in the surgical department. An inspection by the National Health Fund showed that some procedures may have been classified as more complex than indicated by the medical documentation. This could have led to the disbursement of approximately 1.1 million PLN in undue funds. The case has been forwarded to the prosecutor’s office.

Irregularities at the Southern Hospital Morgue

The proceedings conducted by the Warsaw-Ursynów District Prosecutor’s Office also cover irregularities at the morgue, including suspected document falsification and the collection of unjustified fees. Onet described allegations regarding the redirection of deceased families to a selected funeral home, the use of premises for activities unrelated to hospital operations, and the publication of photos taken during autopsies.

The contract with morgue coordinator Artur Habowski was terminated without notice through the fault of the employee. Simultaneously, the disclosed information led to an expansion of inspections to morgues operating at other Warsaw hospitals.

Resignations and Changes to the Hospital Supervision System

Following the disclosure of initial irregularities, the management board of the Warsaw Southern Hospital was dismissed. The composition of the facility’s supervisory board was also changed. Rafał Trzaskowski announced that politicians will not sit on the supervisory boards of municipal hospitals, and responsibility for supervision will be entrusted to individuals with experience in healthcare management.

Warsaw deputy mayors Renata Kaznowska and Aldona Machnowska-Góra also stepped down from their positions. Their successors are Magdalena Młochowska and Izabela Marcewicz-Jendrysik. Izabela Marcewicz-Jendrysik, who previously managed the “Kopernik” Warsaw Medical Care Center and the National Institute of Geriatrics, Rheumatology and Rehabilitation, is now responsible for the capital’s hospitals.

City Hall has commissioned parallel audits of hospital emergency departments and morgues in other municipal facilities. The Southern Hospital case is also being investigated by the National Labor Inspectorate, the Supreme Medical Chamber, the National Health Fund, and the prosecutor’s office.