Patient charged 1,350 zł for parking after three-day hospital stay in Poznań; hospital to refund
Mykola Studzinskyi drove himself to the ER with heart problems, was admitted for three days, and emerged to a 1,350 zł parking bill. After hours stuck at the barrier, he paid nearly half his monthly wage; the Poznań hospital now says it will cancel the charge.
Emergency admission
On 7 July 2026, Mykola Studzinskyi, a 39-year-old warehouse worker who has lived in Poland for six years, felt unwell and consulted a doctor friend. The friend urged him to go to the emergency room immediately. He drove himself to the University Clinical Hospital at ul. Grunwaldzka in Poznań, parked, and was admitted to the intensive cardiac care unit with serious heart problems and arrhythmia. He spent nearly three days in hospital.
The parking bill
When he was discharged and tried to leave the parking lot, the system displayed a fee of 1,350 zł. The rate, in effect since 1 May, is 10 zł for every started 30 minutes, with a maximum of 1,440 zł for 72 hours. The patient had no such sum on his card.
I explained that I don't have that amount on my card right now, but no one wanted to let me out and I had to wait in the car without water, without food.
He contacted the operator five times via the intercom, begging to be released. He asked for an invoice with deferred payment or a payment demand, but was refused. The operator reportedly told him, "Then borrow money from friends!" and hung up. Police who arrived considered the matter a civil dispute.
Trapped at the barrier
Studzinskyi was stuck from 09:12 to 14:16, over five hours, without his regular medications. He described the experience as being taken hostage by the parking system.
The hospital parking took me and my car as hostages. I was detained in front of a closed barrier for over 5 hours! As a patient after a severe cardiac incident, I was forced to sit in a closed car, under enormous stress, without water, food, and without my regular medications that I was supposed to take at home.
Eventually, his employer transferred his salary, and he paid the full amount, which he said was nearly half his monthly wage.
Hospital and ministry response
After the story was reported by Głos Wielkopolski and picked up by national media, the hospital's director, Stanisław Szczepaniak, told Radio ZET that the fee would be cancelled. "This is an exceptional, first such situation since the introduction of paid parking. The patient will be exempted from the fee," he said. He added that if the patient had contacted the hospital administration on the day of discharge, he would have been released from the charge. The head of the director's office, Ewa Żurowska, explained that the parking is short-term to ensure turnover, given the limited spaces in the city centre. She also said the operator's conduct was unacceptable.
The Ministry of Health stated that parking services are not healthcare and are not financed by the National Health Fund or the state budget, and that the minister cannot influence hospital directors on this matter. It suggested the Patient Ombudsman could look into the case.
What happens next
The hospital has received the patient's complaint and will process it. The director assured that patients admitted in an emergency and unexpectedly hospitalized will be treated individually. The operator's behavior is under review.
- Mykola Studzinskyi drives himself to the ER with cardiac problems and is admitted to the intensive cardiac care unit.
- After nearly three days, he is discharged and finds a 1,350 zł parking fee.
- Barrier refuses to open; patient begins over five-hour wait without food, water, or medication.
- After receiving salary transfer from employer, he pays the fee and leaves.
- Hospital director announces the fee will be cancelled and criticises the operator's conduct.
