The Warsaw District Prosecutor's Office said on Monday it had opened two separate investigations into irregularities at Południowy Hospital, in the Polish capital's southern Ursynów district, following media reports and four formal complaints received in recent days.
The first investigation concerns suspected fraud of more than PLN 558,000 (EUR 130,000), stemming from allegedly falsified invoices submitted by a physician that misrepresented his working hours.
The offense carries a prison sentence of one to 10 years.
The second and broader inquiry targets alleged mismanagement and dereliction of duty by city officials responsible for overseeing the hospital.
Prosecutors say those officials failed to conduct required inspections despite receiving both formal and informal warnings about problems at the facility, including violations of triage protocols in the emergency department.
"We are talking about an abuse of authority—primarily a failure to fulfill the obligations of public officials from Warsaw City Hall, who, being responsible for oversight of this hospital, did not meet the appropriate conditions for periodic inspections and verification of the hospital's operations," said Piotr Antoni Skiba, spokesman for the Warsaw District Prosecutor's Office.
Skiba said prosecutors have not ruled out questioning Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski as a witness.
More than 50 people are expected to be interviewed, including hospital management, supervisory board members and City Hall officials.
Prosecutors said Warsaw police would not conduct the investigation because the force receives funding from the city, and that the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (ABW) would be brought in instead.
The cases were triggered by reporting from the zero.pl outlet, which revealed that Dawid Kacprzyk—then coordinator of the hospital's emergency department and a local councillor for the ruling Civic Coalition (KO)—earned PLN 1.6 million (EUR 373,000) last year while completing a medical specialization.
The outlet also alleged that Civic Coalition politicians received priority treatment at the emergency ward.
Kacprzyk has since resigned from the Civic Coalition and from his council seat, and returned PLN 500,000 (EUR 117,000) to the hospital—an amount the facility had been required to refund him due to an accounting irregularity.
The hospital is simultaneously under review by Warsaw City Hall, the National Health Fund, the Supreme Medical Council and the State Labor Inspectorate.
Trzaskowski has dissolved the hospital's management and supervisory boards, and pledged to depoliticize the boards of other city-owned companies.
Justice Minister and Prosecutor-General Waldemar Żurek has said prosecutors will also examine what Trzaskowski knew and when.
(jh/gs)
Source: PAP