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For patients

Patient rights in Poland.

What you are entitled to at the doctor’s and in hospital, how much time you have when something goes wrong, and where to take it. In plain language, with the article of the act next to every answer — so that you can show it.

Printable card

Checked against the sources on

Translation for information only. Only the Polish texts of the legal acts are legally binding. Legal references keep their Polish form so that you can show them to staff: art. = article, ust. = paragraph, pkt = point, § = section, k.c. = Civil Code, k.k. = Criminal Code, Dz.U. … poz. = Journal of Laws … item.

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Right now, on the spot

At the doctor’s and in hospital.

The starting point: you have the right to treatment in line with current medical knowledge, provided with due diligence (art. 6 ust. 1, art. 8). You can use the rights below straight away. Each comes with a sentence you can say calmly, and the article of the act — in case someone asks for the legal basis.

9 questions · the answer straight away, details when expanded

The doctor’s explanation is hard to follow. Can I ask more?

Answer: Yes

You have the right to information you can understand: about the diagnosis, possible methods of treatment, their consequences and the prognosis.

Details and what to say

The act speaks of accessible information — clear to you, not just correct in the medical records. It covers your state of health, the diagnosis, the proposed and possible methods of diagnosis and treatment, the foreseeable consequences of using them or not using them, the results of treatment and the prognosis.

A person who has turned 16 receives this information themselves. It also works the other way: you can ask not to be told about certain matters (art. 9 ust. 4).

You can say

“Please explain this to me more simply. What are the other options, and what will happen if I do not start treatment?”

Can I ask for a second opinion?

Answer: Yes

You can demand a consultation with another doctor or a panel of doctors (konsylium). The doctor may refuse, but must record the refusal in your medical records.

Details and what to say

The doctor may consider the request unjustified. In that case they must note the refusal in the medical records. That entry matters: a “no” said in the consulting room stays on paper and can be checked later.

The same applies to nurses and midwives: you can demand that they seek the opinion of another nurse or midwife, and a refusal also goes into the records (art. 6 ust. 3 pkt 2 and ust. 6).

You can say

“I would like a consultation with another doctor. If that is not possible, please record the refusal in my medical records.”

I am in pain. Is pain relief my right?

Answer: Yes

Yes, it is written into the act. The facility must assess how severe the pain is, treat it and check whether the treatment works.

Details and what to say

These are three separate duties: to determine how intense the pain is, to treat it and to monitor how effective the treatment is. Giving a medicine without measuring the pain and without checking whether it helped is not enough.

You can say

“The pain is not getting any better. Please assess the pain and change the treatment.”

Can someone close to me be with me?

Answer: Yes

At your request — including during an examination. A refusal is allowed for only two reasons and must be recorded in your medical records.

Details and what to say

Staff may refuse only where there is a risk of an epidemic threat or where the patient’s health and safety require it. “That is our policy” is neither of these reasons.

This right concerns being present during an examination or procedure. Care by someone close to you during a hospital stay is a separate right — we describe it below.

You can say

“I want this person to be with me. If that is not possible, please record the reason for the refusal in my medical records.”

There are students or other people at my examination. Do I have to agree?

Answer: No

You have the right to respect for your privacy and dignity. People who are not providing your care — students, for example — may be present only with your consent.

Details and what to say

Everyone practising a medical profession must act in a way that respects your privacy and dignity (art. 20 ust. 1, art. 22 ust. 1). Other medical staff take part in an examination only when this is necessary because of the type of service or for supervisory purposes. The presence of anyone else requires your consent (art. 22 ust. 2). For a child, consent is given by the statutory representative.

People present with your consent are also bound by confidentiality (art. 22 ust. 3). The right to dignity also includes the right to die in peace and with dignity (art. 20 ust. 2).

For a culpable violation of this right, a court may award compensation for the harm suffered (art. 4) — more under reporting violations.

You can say

“I do not consent to other people being present during the examination.”

Can someone close to me look after me in hospital?

Answer: Yes

You have the right to additional nursing care: someone close to you can look after you in hospital. This means care, not treatment — treatment is provided by the staff.

Details and what to say

The act defines additional nursing care as care that does not consist in providing healthcare services. It explicitly mentions care of a child, of a person with a severe degree of disability, and of a woman during pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period (art. 34 ust. 1–2).

The hospital may charge for this, but only up to its actual costs. The amount of the charge and how it is calculated must be public and available in the hospital (art. 35 ust. 1–3). A parent’s stay with a child is free of charge — see below.

The head of the facility may restrict this right in the event of an epidemic threat or for the health and safety of patients (art. 5).

You can say

“I want this person to look after me. If there is a charge, please show me how much it is and how it was calculated.”

The hospital wants to charge me for staying with my child. Is it allowed to?

Answer: No

The hospital may not charge for a parent or carer staying with a child or with a person with a severe degree of disability.

Details and what to say

As a rule, the patient pays for additional nursing care (art. 35 ust. 1). However, the act expressly exempts from the charge the stay of a statutory representative or de facto carer with a patient who is a minor or has a certificate of a severe degree of disability (art. 35 ust. 4 in conjunction with art. 34 ust. 3).

This is one of the most frequently broken provisions. If the hospital charges you, report it to the Patient Ombudsman.

You can say

“Art. 35 ust. 4 of the Act on Patient Rights exempts a parent’s stay with a child from charges. Please do not charge me.”

It is an emergency. Do I have to wait in the queue?

Answer: No

If your health or life is in danger, you have the right to immediate help — regardless of queues and referrals.

Details

This right applies regardless of waiting lists. Separately, the act guarantees a woman in labour the right to services related to childbirth (art. 7 ust. 2).

When a life is in danger, do not look for legal provisions — call 112.

Other rights in brief

  • When there are not enough services for everyone — a transparent, objective procedure for setting the order, based on medical criteria. art. 6 ust. 2
  • Written information on patient rights, displayed in the facility in a publicly accessible place. If you cannot move about — brought to your room. art. 11
  • Advance notice when the doctor intends to stop treating you, and an indication of where you can continue treatment. art. 10
  • Information given in an understandable way to a person with special needs, including with the help of communication aids. art. 12 ust. 2
  • In hospital — contact with other people in person, by phone and by post, as well as the right to refuse contact. The facility may also restrict visits for organisational reasons. art. 33, art. 5
  • In hospital — pastoral care. If your health deteriorates or your life is in danger, the hospital must make it possible to contact a minister of your religion. art. 36–37
  • In hospital — safekeeping of valuables in a deposit, at the hospital’s expense. art. 39

Documents and data

Your medical records.

Your medical records are your most important evidence. It is worth knowing how to get them, how long the facility keeps them and who else may see them.

3 questions · the answer straight away, details when expanded

How much does a copy of my medical records cost?

Answer: PLN 0

The first copy in a given scope is free of charge. For further copies the facility may charge a fee, but only up to the statutory limit.

Details and what to say

The facility does not charge a fee when it makes the records available to the patient or their statutory representative for the first time in the requested scope (art. 28 ust. 2a pkt 1). Reception staff rarely mention this.

For further copies of the same scope a fee is allowed, but the act sets an upper limit (art. 28 ust. 4). The limits are calculated from the average wage in the previous quarter, so they change every quarter.

Maximum fees allowed from 1 September to 30 November 2026
Page of a copy or printoutPLN 0.65
Page of an extract or transcriptPLN 18.47
All of it on a disc or USB stickPLN 3.69
Calculated from the average wage in the second quarter of 2026 (PLN 9,233.13, Statistics Poland (GUS) announcement).
You can say

“I would like a copy of my medical records. This is the first time they are being made available in this scope, so there is no charge.”

How long does the facility keep my medical records?

Answer: 20 years

Usually 20 years from the end of the year in which the last entry was made. But do not wait — your own deadlines for taking action are much shorter.

Details

Exceptions: 30 years if death resulted from bodily injury or poisoning; 22 years for the records of children up to the age of 2; 10 years for X-ray images stored outside the medical records.

If you are considering any steps, ask for a copy straight away. It is the only evidence, and your deadlines are counted in days, months and years — not decades.

Can the doctor tell my family about my illness?

Answer: No

Not without your consent. You decide, in your medical records, who may receive information — and you can change this at any time.

Details and what to say

Staff must keep information about you confidential, including information about your state of health (art. 13). Confidentiality continues after the patient’s death (art. 14).

The authorisation is usually filled in once, on admission, and is then easy to forget. It is worth checking who has been named there.

You can say

“Who is named in my records as an authorised person? I want to change it.”

When something went wrong

What happened?

Choose the situation that fits — you will see where to take it, how to do it, how much time you have and whether it costs anything. Institutions do not pass cases on to each other, so the right address is half the battle.

Before you report anything

  1. Ask for a copy of your medical records. The first one is free, and it is your main evidence. How to ask for it.

  2. Write down what happened. Date, time, place, who was present, what was said. While you still remember the details.

  3. Keep the paperwork. Receipts, invoices, referrals, discharge summaries, test results. Where you were charged, they are the evidence.

  4. Check the deadline and the right address. Institutions do not pass cases on to each other — a report sent to the wrong address is lost. Deadlines.

  1. My rights were not respectedI was refused information or my records, told to pay for staying with my child, or not treated with respect and privacy.Where to: Patient Ombudsman (Rzecznik Praw Pacjenta)
    How
    By phone, by e-mail (kancelaria@rpp.gov.pl), via the ePUAP e-government platform (/RzPP/skrytka) or by post: ul. Płocka 11/13, 01-231 Warszawa.
    Cost
    Free of charge — an application to the Ombudsman is exempt from fees (art. 50 ust. 2).
    On site
    If the facility has a patient rights representative (pełnomocnik do spraw praw pacjenta), you can start there — they take part in handling complaints (art. 40a). However, they report to the head of the facility, so they are not independent in the way the Ombudsman is.
    Money
    The Ombudsman will not award you money. For a culpable violation of patient rights — for example of dignity, confidentiality or the right to information — a court may award compensation for the harm suffered (art. 4 in conjunction with art. 448 of the Civil Code). This is a different legal basis from damages for harm to health.
  2. I was told to pay for treatment funded by the NFZOr I was refused an appointment, the tests ordered were not done, or something does not add up in the billing.Where to: Regional branch of the NFZ (oddział wojewódzki NFZ)
    How
    The form at skargi-i-wnioski.nfz.gov.pl (in Polish), in person at the branch, by post or via ePUAP.
    Deadline
    The NFZ replies within 30 days. If it asks you to supply missing information, you have 7 days — otherwise the case will not be considered.
    Cost
    Free of charge.
    Good to know
    Keep the receipt or invoice — it is your evidence. It also happens the other way round: you pay privately, and the facility also bills the NFZ for the same service. You can see this in your Internet Patient Account (IKP).
  3. My IKP shows a visit that never happenedOr a facility I have never been to, or a service I paid for privately but which was billed to the NFZ.Where to: A report in the Internet Patient Account (Internetowe Konto Pacjenta, IKP)
    How
    pacjent.gov.pl → Historia leczenia (Treatment history) → Historia wizyt (Visit history) → Szczegóły (Details) → “Zgłoś nieprawidłowość” (Report an irregularity). It takes a few minutes.
    What next
    The report goes to the NFZ branch, which looks into the matter. Do not report the same thing twice — it only delays the investigation.
    Cost
    Free of charge.
    Good to know
    In 2024 patients reported almost 3.5 thousand such services, and the NFZ found more than 1.6 thousand of the reports justified. You are the only person outside the facility–NFZ relationship who can notice this.
  4. I disagree with a doctor’s rulingWhen a doctor’s opinion or ruling (orzeczenie) affects your rights or obligations under the law.Where to: Medical Commission at the Patient Ombudsman (Komisja Lekarska przy Rzeczniku Praw Pacjenta)
    Deadline
    30 days from the date the opinion or ruling is issued. The deadline is strict.
    How
    You file the objection through the Ombudsman, not directly with the Commission. It must give reasons and indicate the provision from which your rights or obligations arise — without this it will be returned to you.
    What next
    The Commission rules within 30 days. There is no appeal against its decision, so you get one attempt — prepare it carefully (art. 31).
  5. Treatment harmed me. I want compensationAn infection, bodily injury, a health disorder or the death of someone close to you.Where to: Compensation Fund at the Patient Ombudsman (Fundusz Kompensacyjny przy RPP) or a civil court
    Harm in hospital
    For an event on or after 6 September 2023 you can choose the Fund: faster, without court and without proving fault, but with an upper limit on the amount.
    Any other situation
    A civil court — damages and compensation for harm suffered, without a statutory limit.
    Deadline
    Fund: one year from learning of the harm, at the latest 3 years from the event. Court: 3 years from learning of the harm and of who is responsible for it.
  6. A doctor made a mistake or behaved unethicallyYou want the medical self-government to take up the case and assess the doctor’s conduct.Where to: Regional disciplinary prosecutor (okręgowy rzecznik odpowiedzialności zawodowej) at the medical chamber
    How
    To the regional disciplinary prosecutor of the medical chamber the doctor belongs to: your details, the date and place of the event, a description and the doctor’s details.
    Deadline
    Proceedings cannot be opened after 3 years from the act (art. 64 ust. 1 of the Act on Medical Chambers) — file your complaint earlier so that the prosecutor has time.
    Good to know
    These are disciplinary proceedings: they can lead to the doctor being penalised, but will not get you any money. The complaint is handled by the medical self-government — the same structure acts as both prosecutor and court. We describe this mechanism.
  7. Someone wants a bribe, or I suspect a crimeFor example, an entry for a test that never took place, or a demand for a “thank-you” for being seen sooner.Where to: Police, public prosecutor’s office or the CBA
    How
    A notification at any police unit or district prosecutor’s office (prokuratura rejonowa) — in writing or orally, for the record.
    Corruption
    Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA): +48 800 808 808 (24 hours a day), sygnal@cba.gov.pl.
    Good to know
    A person who gave a bribe is not punished if the benefit was accepted and they themselves notified the authorities before the authorities learned of it, and disclosed all the relevant circumstances. All the conditions must be met together (art. 229 § 6 k.k.).
  8. A medicine caused harm, a dirty facility, concerns about a facilityThree matters that neither the Ombudsman nor the NFZ deals with.Where to: URPL, the sanitary inspectorate (sanepid) or the voivode (wojewoda)
    A medicine caused harm
    Report an adverse reaction — this is your right. Using the form of the Office for Registration of Medicinal Products (Urząd Rejestracji Produktów Leczniczych, URPL), through a doctor, nurse or pharmacist, or to the manufacturer (address in the leaflet).
    Dirt, infections
    Sanitary inspectorate (sanepid): e.sanepid.gov.pl or the mObywatel app, 24 hours a day.
    The facility itself
    Supervision is exercised by the voivode (wojewoda) — the health department of the voivodeship office (urząd wojewódzki). Public register of facilities: rpwdl2.ezdrowie.gov.pl.

The routes do not exclude each other. A complaint to the medical self-government can lead to the doctor being penalised, but it will not get you any money. The Patient Ombudsman will deal with a violation of your rights, but will not award damages. One important link: accepting a benefit from the Fund closes the route to court.

Watch the deadlines

How much time you have.

Most often a case is lost not because the patient was wrong, but because a deadline passed. Here they all are on one list — starting with the shortest.

  1. 7 days

    to supply missing information in a complaint to the NFZ

    from the request · otherwise the case will not be considered

    Short deadline

  2. 14 days

    to appeal against a decision on the compensation benefit

    from delivery of the decision · Appeals Commission (Komisja Odwoławcza), fee PLN 241

    Short deadline

  3. 30 days

    to object to a doctor’s opinion or ruling

    from the date it is issued · art. 31

    Short deadline

  4. 30 days

    to decide whether to accept the benefit awarded by the Fund

    from the award · accepting it closes the route to court

    Short deadline

  5. 1 year

    to apply for a compensation benefit for harm in hospital

    from learning of the harm, at the latest 3 years from the event · Compensation Fund (Fundusz Kompensacyjny)

  6. 3 years

    to sue for damages and compensation for harm suffered

    from learning of the harm and of who is responsible for it · art. 442¹ § 1 k.c.

  7. 3 years

    for the disciplinary prosecutor to open proceedings — file your complaint earlier

    from the act · art. 64 ust. 1 of the Act on Medical Chambers

  8. 20 years

    how long the facility keeps your medical records

    from the end of the year of the last entry · art. 29

    For comparison

Harm suffered in hospital

The Fund or the court?

Since 1 July 2024, harm suffered in hospital has been handled by the Medical Events Compensation Fund (Fundusz Kompensacyjny Zdarzeń Medycznych) at the Patient Ombudsman. It is a faster and simpler route than court — no lawsuit, no lawyer, no need to prove the fault of a specific person. But it has conditions you need to know before you apply, not after.

Comparison: Compensation Fund and Civil court
Compensation FundCivil court
Where the harm occurred
Only in a hospital (including psychiatric and spa hospitals), during treatment funded from public moneyAnywhere: in a hospital, clinic or surgery, including private care
Since when
Events from 6 September 2023 onwards, or earlier ones that you learn about after that dateNo such limit
Fault
No need to prove the fault of a specific personYou have to show liability; expert witnesses are usually needed
Deadline
One year from learning of the harm, at the latest 3 years from the event3 years from learning of the harm and of who is responsible
Cost
Fee of PLN 361. It is not refunded if the Ombudsman refuses the benefit. In financial hardship you can ask to be exemptedCourt fee
Time
Decision within 3 months of a complete application with the fee paidMedical negligence cases can take a long time
How much
Patient: PLN 2,393 – PLN 239,131. Someone close to a patient who died: PLN 23,914 – PLN 119,566, for each person separately. Tax-freeNo statutory limit

Amounts and fees apply from 6 September 2026; they are indexed every year in September.

The Fund will consider your case if all four conditions are met

  1. Hospital. The event took place in a hospital, during treatment funded from public money. Clinics, surgeries and private treatment — no.

  2. After 6 September 2023. Or earlier, but you learn about it only after that date.

  3. A medical event, not a complication. A consequence that could very probably have been avoided with treatment in line with current knowledge. A normal, foreseeable consequence of a method you gave informed consent to is a complication — the Fund does not cover it.

  4. On time. One year from learning of the infection, bodily injury, health disorder or death of the patient — and no later than 3 years from the event.

How to apply and what happens next

  • Filing: on paper (ul. Płocka 11/13, 01-231 Warszawa), via ePUAP (/RzPP/skrytka) or e-Doręczenia (the electronic registered delivery service). An ordinary e-mail is not enough — such an application will not be considered.
  • The PLN 361 fee is refunded if the benefit is awarded, if the application is left without consideration or if the Ombudsman refuses to open proceedings.
  • Appeal: within 14 days of delivery of the decision, to the Appeals Commission (Komisja Odwoławcza) through the Ombudsman (fee PLN 241, refunded if the appeal is upheld). After that, a complaint to the Voivodeship Administrative Court (Wojewódzki Sąd Administracyjny) in Warsaw.
  • The voivodeship commissions for medical events (wojewódzkie komisje do spraw zdarzeń medycznych) have not operated since 1 July 2024, and the Ombudsman took over their pending cases. Older guides still refer people to them.
  • Do not confuse the Medical Events Compensation Fund with the Vaccination and Clinical Trials funds — these are separate funds at the same office, with separate applications and accounts.

Take it with you

Pocket card

The most important rights, deadlines and numbers on a single card — for your handbag, for the folder with your medical records or for a parent. You print it on an ordinary sheet of A4, cut it and fold it. It can be handed out without asking for permission.

Where this comes from

This is not legal advice. We have collected what follows directly from the acts and from the official websites of public authorities, with links to the sources. For your own case, call the free helpline — it is answered by people who do this professionally.

  • Act of 6 November 2008 on Patient Rights and the Patient Ombudsman (ustawa o prawach pacjenta i Rzeczniku Praw Pacjenta), consolidated text Dz.U. 2024 poz. 581 (opens in a new tab) (in Polish). Articles cited without the name of an act refer to this act.
  • Limitation of claims: art. 442¹ of the Civil Code (Kodeks cywilny). That the ten-year limit from the event does not apply to personal injury was settled by the Supreme Court (resolution of 24 February 2009, III CZP 2/09), following the judgment of the Constitutional Tribunal in case SK 14/05.
  • Professional liability of doctors: art. 64 of the Act on Medical Chambers (ustawa o izbach lekarskich, Dz.U. 2021 poz. 1342). Exemption from punishment for reporting a bribe: art. 229 § 6 of the Criminal Code (Kodeks karny).

Sources 13

Sejm (ISAP) · Patient Ombudsman (RPP) · Ministry of Health · NFZ · Statistics Poland (GUS) · Rynek Zdrowia

  1. Sejm (ISAP)

    Ustawa o prawach pacjenta i Rzeczniku Praw Pacjenta, tekst jednolity Dz.U. 2024 poz. 581 (“Act on Patient Rights and the Patient Ombudsman, consolidated text”, in Polish)

  2. Patient Ombudsman (RPP)

    Prawa pacjenta (“Patient rights”, in Polish)

  3. Ministry of Health

    Prawa pacjenta (“Patient rights”, in Polish)

  4. Patient Ombudsman (RPP)

    Telefoniczna Informacja Pacjenta (“Patient Information Line”, in Polish)

  5. NFZ

    Telefoniczna Informacja Pacjenta (“Patient Information Line”, in Polish)

  6. Statistics Poland (GUS) · 10.08.2026

    Komunikat Prezesa GUS w sprawie przeciętnego wynagrodzenia w drugim kwartale 2026 r. (M.P. 2026 poz. 779) (“Announcement of the President of GUS on the average wage in the second quarter of 2026”, in Polish)

  7. Patient Ombudsman (RPP)

    Kiedy i komu przysługuje świadczenie kompensacyjne (“When and to whom the compensation benefit is due”, in Polish)

  8. Patient Ombudsman (RPP)

    Jak złożyć wniosek o świadczenie kompensacyjne (opłata, kanały) (“How to apply for the compensation benefit: fee, channels”, in Polish)

  9. Patient Ombudsman (RPP)

    Wysokość świadczenia kompensacyjnego (kwoty od 6 września 2026 r.) (“Amount of the compensation benefit: amounts from 6 September 2026”, in Polish)

  10. Patient Ombudsman (RPP)

    Komisja Odwoławcza — termin i opłata od odwołania (“Appeals Commission — deadline and appeal fee”, in Polish)

  11. Patient Ombudsman (RPP)

    Rzecznik przejmuje sprawy wojewódzkich komisji ds. orzekania o zdarzeniach medycznych (“The Ombudsman takes over the cases of the voivodeship commissions for medical events”, in Polish)

  12. Sejm (ISAP)

    Ustawa o izbach lekarskich, tekst jednolity Dz.U. 2021 poz. 1342 (“Act on Medical Chambers, consolidated text”, in Polish)

  13. Rynek Zdrowia · 10.08.2024

    Zgłoszenia nieprawdziwych świadczeń widocznych w IKP — skala i przykłady (“Reports of false services shown in the IKP — scale and examples”, in Polish)

We link only to publicly available documents and publications.

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