Polish doctors protest to save Lesko Hospital, demand action from PM Tusk

Employees of the Specialist Hospital in Lesko staged a protest in front of the Sejm, presenting a wooden box containing more than 5,600 signatures urging Prime Minister Donald Tusk to intervene. The hospital, which serves residents of the Bieszczady and Subcarpathian region, is burdened with a debt of nearly 130 million zlotys and receives only about 75 % of staff wages, with arrears to suppliers and contractors.

Protest leaders, including union representative Zofia Bosak and activist Duszan Augustyn, warned that the facility’s possible closure would endanger patients who must travel long distances for care. They recalled Tusk’s 2023 pledge that “the system must work for remote regions” and demanded a meeting with the premier to secure emergency financing and keep the obstetrics unit open.