Hospital management and legal issues in Podlaskie Voivodeship

Hospitals in the Podlaskie region are facing operational changes due to economic pressures. At the Provincial Hospital in Łomża, the number of beds in the obstetrics and gynecology ward has been reduced from 41 to 21. According to Deputy Director Joanna Chilińska, this reduction was necessary to avoid the costs of maintaining empty beds that lack National Health Fund (NFZ) financing, allowing the facility to better align staffing levels with actual patient demand.

Separately, the District Prosecutor's Office in Łomża is investigating a former employee of the hospital in Grajewo. The investigation concerns the procurement of single-use medical supplies and oxygen concentrators in late 2020, which an expert determined were purchased outside of public procurement procedures. The case is being treated as causing significant financial damage for the purpose of obtaining material benefit. The suspect, identified by sources as former procurement manager Milena F., has denied the charges.