VIP fast track and a 1.6 million PLN doctor: scandal forces board dismissal at Warsaw's Southern Hospital

The crisis at Warsaw's Southern Hospital (Szpital Południowy) erupted this week after it was revealed that Dawid Kacprzyk, the coordinator of the hospital's emergency department and a Civic Coalition (KO) district councilor, collected 1.6 million PLN in 2025 despite not having completed his anaesthesiology specialization. The story widened when portal Zero.pl reported on Wednesday that a so-called VIP lounge had operated on his ward, where KO politicians and their families allegedly bypassed standard queues for immediate diagnostics.

Resignations and repayments

Kacprzyk left the party on Monday and, on Thursday evening, submitted his council mandate electronically. He also corrected 33 invoices covering the period from January 2025 to June 2026 and transferred 500,000 PLN back to the hospital. "We assume this decision is connected to his awareness that he acted illegally," Prime Minister Donald Tusk told reporters. On the same day, Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski dismissed the entire hospital board, appointing Aneta Gomółka-Siembora as the new chief executive.

Government response

Tusk insisted on a zero-tolerance approach while drawing a contrast with the previous administration. "Zero tolerance for those who do wrong things. I will not allow anyone to feel entitled to do wrong things just because predecessors did worse," he said, adding that under PiS rule the young doctor would have been promoted. Minister of the Interior and head of Warsaw KO structures, Marcin Kierwiński, argued that the party does not control staffing or rosters: "It is not Civic Coalition that is responsible for the scheduling or manning of doctors."

The PiS opposition countered that Kacprzyk was being shielded.

“Mr. Kacprzyk is effectively being saved by his KO colleagues.”

Investigation and safeguards

Minister of Justice and Prosecutor General Waldemar Żurek placed the investigation under his personal supervision, promising it would be free of political pressure.

“The prosecutor's office does not make quick, political decisions; it must gather evidence.”

Prosecutors will examine possible breaches of Article 231 of the penal code, abuse of powers, as well as financial irregularities and the list of VIP beneficiaries. A simultaneous audit by the Supreme Audit Office (NIK) is to check other institutions for comparable practices.

Wider professional activities

During a control visit, PiS MPs learned that Kacprzyk was simultaneously employed at Warsaw's Bródnowski Hospital. Documents showed he worked 290 hours there in March alone, earning more than 104,000 PLN, and held a deputy coordinator post for an additional 25,000 PLN per month. His hourly rate of 350 PLN, and sometimes 400 PLN, exceeded the hospital's standard of 300 PLN for emergency department physicians. The revelations have intensified calls for systemic reform; a government bill on mandatory reporting of doctor earnings is scheduled for a parliamentary vote on Friday.