Czarzasty, who leads the junior coalition partner New Left, said the government had acted too late to address mounting problems in public healthcare but backed recently announced reform proposals.
"The ruling coalition has not done everything well, and we have messed up healthcare," Czarzasty told private broadcaster TVN24 on Friday. "We have to fix it because if we don't, we will lose the election."
Polish lower-house Speaker Włodzimierz Czarzasty. Photo: PAP/Marcin Obara
His comments followed the government's announcement of a broad package of healthcare reforms amid reports of irregularities at several public hospitals, including Warsaw's Południowy Hospital.
Health Minister Jolanta Sobierańska-Grenda on Wednesday proposed measures aimed at reducing costs and improving transparency, including public disclosure of contracts signed by healthcare providers receiving public funding, a maximum hourly pay rate for medical professionals, limits on the share of hospital budgets spent on salaries and mandatory recording of working hours in hospitals and clinics.
She also announced plans to accelerate the rollout of electronic patient registration, with a nationwide online booking system for planned procedures expected by the end of 2026 and full implementation by the end of 2027.
The health ministry also plans tighter oversight of doctors working simultaneously at multiple hospitals while performing highly paid specialist procedures.
'We need to get to work'
Czarzasty said Sobierańska-Grenda was "moving in the right direction" and pledged his party's support for even far-reaching reforms, including measures affecting both healthcare institutions and medical staff.
He told TVN24 that his New Left party had for months advocated introducing pay caps for doctors, stricter rules governing the allocation of public healthcare funds and clearer regulations separating public and private medical practice.
He added that the reform proposals should have been presented earlier.
"We should have done this sooner," he said. "We need to get to work on it."
Prime Minister Donald Tusk on July 3 demanded detailed proposals to address problems in the public healthcare system, warning that failure to act could result in dismissals.
Tusk, who served as president of the European Council from 2014 to 2019 before returning to Polish politics in 2021, led the Civic Coalition to victory in the 2023 parliamentary election, ending eight years of right-wing rule.
Poland's next parliamentary election is scheduled for autumn 2027, with right-wing and far-right parties seeking to return to power.
According to a recent survey by pollster CBOS, Tusk's Civic Coalition (KO) would win 25.1 percent of the vote if elections were held now, ahead of the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party on 19.1 percent.
The far-right, economically liberal Confederation party would receive 15.2 percent, followed by the ultranationalist Confederation of the Polish Crown with 8.2 percent. Czarzasty's New Left would win 5.3 percent, just above the threshold required to enter parliament.
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Source: IAR, PAP, interia.pl