Warsaw Deputy Mayor on Doctor's Earnings: Investigation to Follow

Warsaw's Deputy Mayor Renata Kaznowska has announced an investigation into the earnings of Dr. Dawid Kacprzyk, a physician whose reported annual salary of 1.6 million Polish zloty has been deemed "scandalously high." Kaznowska stated that while this case is under scrutiny, similar high remuneration is not an isolated incident within Poland's public healthcare sector.

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The remuneration of a doctor reaching PLN 1.6 million annually is scandalously high.

According to Kaznowska, Dr. Kacprzyk allegedly worked approximately 3,900 hours in a year at Warsaw's Southern Hospital, translating to more than a dozen hours of work per day. Electronic records indicated that all logged hours were accounted for. However, the deputy mayor plans a thorough review to confirm the accuracy of these billing records. She also mentioned that Dr. Kacprzyk was reportedly paid the same hourly rate as other doctors working in the emergency department.

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Such high earnings are not an exception in public healthcare.

The underlying cause for these exceptionally high salaries, Kaznowska explained, is a significant shortage of doctors in certain specialties. Hospitals are compelled to offer competitive rates to ensure adequate staffing levels and maintain their contracts with the National Health Fund (NFZ). The situation is exacerbated by entire medical teams threatening to resign if salary increases are not met. Kaznowska emphasized that local governments lack the authority to cap these earnings in independent healthcare facilities and suggested that the state should establish maximum hourly rates and monthly work hour limits for physicians in public healthcare.

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The main reason for high earnings is the shortage of doctors in selected specialties. Hospitals must ensure adequate staffing to maintain contracts with the NFZ, so they compete with rates.