Polish emergency rooms face privacy complaints and staff overwork

Patients at the Regional Hospital Emergency Department (SOR) in Lubin, Lower Silesia, have complained that medical triage interviews are conducted in view of other waiting patients, exposing personal health information. The hospital’s management says no formal complaints have been recorded and that interviews are performed in a designated area, emphasizing confidentiality obligations.

A National Audit Office (NIK) investigation of nine Polish hospitals found severe staffing shortages and overburdened emergency departments. Doctors and paramedics worked continuous shifts exceeding 24 hours, with an extreme case of a physician on duty for 144 hours. The audit noted that almost half of the patients treated at SORs did not require urgent care, highlighting misuse of emergency resources and a shortage of qualified emergency‑medicine doctors. Recommendations call for increasing medical staff numbers.