The findings, published by the Supreme Audit Office (NIK) on Wednesday, cover the hospital's operations between 2022 and 2025. The audit, launched in September last year, resulted in 11 recommendations for corrective action.
Among the most serious concerns was the organisation of staff schedules. Auditors found that one doctor worked more than 300 hours in a single month, while one nurse logged nearly 250 hours.
NIK warned that excessive workloads not only affect medical personnel but could also compromise patient safety by increasing the risk of adverse events.
The audit also found that staffing levels on the hospital's general surgery and internal medicine wards were significantly lower than those reported to the National Health Fund (NFZ), which finances Poland's public healthcare system.
Auditors also criticised the hospital's Warsaw Spine Surgery Centre, saying it was heavily promoted despite not formally existing within the hospital's organizational structure.
According to the report, the orthopedic department housing the centre failed to separate publicly funded and private services.
Medical staff, equipment and operating rooms financed by the NFZ were used simultaneously for commercial procedures, while doctors were scheduled to provide publicly funded and private services at the same time.
NIK also found that patient rooms designated for the spine centre lacked basic equipment such as sinks, soap and paper towels, while one room contained a television, furniture and a kitchenette, with much of its space left unused, state news agency PAP reported.
The watchdog also criticised the hospital for admitting some patients for scheduled treatment through its emergency department, even though emergency rooms are intended to treat life-threatening conditions.
Hospital officials told auditors that planned admissions did not delay emergency patients because they were processed only when no one was waiting to register. NIK said the practice nevertheless risked interfering with emergency care.
Health Minister Jolanta Sobierańska-Grenda said she had not yet reviewed the report in detail but that responsibility for implementing its recommendations rested with the hospital's new management, supervisory board and owner.
Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski said city authorities were analysing the findings and pledged to "draw conclusions" from the report, adding that he wanted the hospital and the city's healthcare system to function properly.
The hospital has faced mounting scrutiny since June, when a news outlet reported that an emergency department doctor, who was also a local politician from Prime Minister Donald Tusk's Civic Coalition (KO) party and who was still in specialist training, earned about PLN 1.6 million (EUR 370,000, USD 430,000) last year, an unusually high income in Poland. The report also alleged preferential treatment for ruling party politicians at the hospital.
The Warsaw District Prosecutor's Office has opened two investigations, including one into suspected fraud involving more than PLN 500,000 and another into the possible abuse of office related to patient triage procedures in the emergency department.
Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek has said prosecutors have received 12 reports since 2023 concerning patient deaths at the hospital. Three cases were dismissed without investigation, four were closed and five remain under investigation.
The case is also being examined by Poland's medical chamber, which is considering suspending the doctor's licence pending the outcome of the criminal investigation.
The hospital is also being inspected by the National Health Fund, Warsaw city authorities, the National Labour Inspectorate and the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA).
The health ministry has also ordered inspections of the emergency departments at Południowy Hospital and Warsaw's Bródnowski Hospital, including reviews of patient deaths, while Poland's data protection authority has announced an investigation into the handling of personal data.
The audit comes as the government seeks to overhaul Poland's healthcare system following reports of irregularities at several public hospitals.
Last week, Sobierańska-Grenda 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.
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Source: IAR, PAP