Piaseczno health centre accused of giving VIP access to local politicians

In Piaseczno, a town south of Warsaw, the municipal health centre (MCM) is alleged to have run an informal system that allowed Civic Coalition councillors to obtain medical appointments, prescriptions and referrals faster than ordinary patients. According to reports, the officials bypassed the official e‑registration, using direct contacts and even SMS messages marked “potrzebuję” to secure appointments, sometimes within days instead of the usual week‑plus wait.

The alleged favours involved senior local politicians, including council chairwoman Katarzyna Wypych, county council chair Krzysztof Kasprzycki and councillor Piotr Sędziak, all of whom sit on the centre’s social board. Staff members described pressure to treat these politicians as a private health service. The politicians denied any wrongdoing, and the town mayor also rejected the accusations. The national health insurance fund (NFZ) has opened an audit of the centre, which serves about 26,000 patients with roughly 170 employees across four clinics.