Polish health scandals drive Tusk’s emergency meeting with KO MPs

Prime Minister Donald Tusk met with members of the Koalicja Obywatelska (KO) parliamentary club on 15 July 2026 to address a series of health‑care controversies that have shaken public confidence. The discussion focused on recent revelations of preferential treatment for politicians in public hospitals, the exploitation of tele‑medical platforms to obtain fraudulent sick‑leave certificates, and the discovery of exceptionally high salaries paid to a small group of doctors at the Koszalin regional hospital.

Sławomir Mentzen of the Konfederacja party demonstrated that fake L‑4 sick‑leave forms can be obtained online within minutes, estimating annual losses of about 35 billion PLN to Polish businesses. An investigation by Watchdog Polska disclosed that 17 physicians earned over one million złoty each year, with total payouts exceeding 23.7 million złoty. Tusk condemned the “VIP‑treatment” practices, saying they caused him “a feeling of nausea,” and pledged to eradicate such abuse. The meeting also touched on broader policy issues, including Poland’s exclusion from a new European anti‑ballistic‑missile coalition, underscoring the government’s multiple challenges ahead of the 2027 elections.