Warsaw hospital scandal deepens as whistleblower faces prosecution and coalition allies turn on Tusk

Background

The scandal centres on Dawid Kacprzyk, a young doctor without a specialisation who served as coordinator of the Emergency Department (SOR) at Warsaw's Szpital Południowy. According to media reports, Kacprzyk worked nearly 4,000 hours in a single year and earned almost 1.6 million PLN for medical services. He was also a former councillor for the Civic Coalition (KO), the party of Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski and Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

Allegations include a "VIP pathway" for KO politicians in the ER, irregularities in shift schedules, and possible deaths resulting from negligence. An audit by the city hall confirmed irregularities related to Kacprzyk's presence on rosters, and the hospital filed a notice of suspected fraud. Trzaskowski dismissed the hospital's management board.

Whistleblower and prosecution

Emil Jędrzejewski, former head of surgery at the hospital, reported concerns about Kacprzyk to the hospital board and supervisory board in June 2025, and to Trzaskowski in July 2025. The complaint was not accepted because it lacked signatures from other medical staff.

After the scandal broke, Jędrzejewski gave an interview describing deaths on the SOR due to neglect. On 24 June he was summoned by the Warsaw District Prosecutor's Office, but refused to answer questions without his lawyer present. The prosecution's questions focused on his employment contract and administrative matters, not medical secrets. His lawyer argues that if Jędrzejewski invokes medical confidentiality during testimony, he could face charges under Article 266 §1 of the Penal Code for what he said in the interview. The next session is scheduled for Monday.

“If there were medical confidentiality, the doctor should have invoked it, not remained silent.”

Kacprzyk has not yet been questioned. The prosecution intends to summon him as a witness only after hearing other witnesses, including city officials and hospital managers, which may take one to two months. He has submitted a statement with his contact details and declared readiness to appear.

Political fallout

The scandal has strained the ruling coalition. Anna Maria Żukowska, deputy head of the Left (Nowa Lewica), criticised the government's response as insufficient and warned that the affair could cost the entire ruling camp the next election.

“Prime Minister, you have to deal with this, otherwise you will lose the election and you will not be prime minister.”

She also faulted Health Minister Jolanta Sobierańska-Grenda for days of silence and said Trzaskowski had suffered a "dramatic drop" in trust polls. The Left's city council club voted against granting Trzaskowski discharge for the city budget.

Opposition figures were harsher. Przemysław Czarnek, the Law and Justice (PiS) candidate for prime minister, noted that while Kacprzyk had not been questioned, the whistleblower had been summoned and attempts were made to discredit him.

“A rotten and corrupt government. Their end is near.”

Konfederacja MP Michał Wawer accused Tusk of a strategy of stalling and deflecting attention, and said the prime minister and Trzaskowski had hoped to keep the affair secret.

Wider hospital failings

A separate audit by the Supreme Audit Office (NIK) of ten clinical hospitals across Poland found serious staffing violations. In one facility a doctor worked continuously for 70 hours and 10 minutes, and a total of 75 doctors and nurses worked uninterrupted for more than 24 hours. NIK stated this posed a direct threat to patient safety. The audit also uncovered neglected equipment inspections and breaches of public procurement law.

Medical community steps in

The Supreme Medical Chamber (NIL) announced that six doctors from Szpital Południowy had come forward willing to testify about irregularities they witnessed. NIL president Łukasz Jankowski said they had previously been afraid to speak out due to fear of dismissal.

“They were afraid to speak earlier because they might have been fired.”

The chamber is preparing a motion to suspend Kacprzyk's licence to practise, describing it as the professional equivalent of pre-trial detention.