Warsaw hospital's prosectorium allegedly operated as private funeral business

Warsaw's Southern Hospital is embroiled in a new scandal, this time concerning its prosectorium, which witnesses claim operated more like a private funeral business than a public hospital facility. Allegations suggest that grieving families were steered directly to the prosectorium for death certificates instead of the usual hospital departments.

According to witness accounts reported by Onet, the prosectorium allegedly maintained an unofficial price list for services. Releasing a body reportedly cost 100 zlotys, while dressing the body and cosmetic procedures ranged from 500 zlotys upwards. Embalming services were priced around 1,000 zlotys, and recommending a specific funeral home could cost up to 1,500 zlotys. These payments were allegedly made directly to staff without receipts or official records.

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Once a client asked to present a receipt for each item on the invoice because he needed it to withdraw money from the bank. We went with this to Artur, to issue a receipt for dressing the body. He never did it.

One funeral home owner told Onet that when asked for receipts for services like dressing a body, the prosectorium coordinator never provided them. Families also reported delays in body release unless cash was handed over to prosectorium staff. Furthermore, the prosectorium's coordinator allegedly cultivated relationships with funeral homes, offering faster body release to those who paid extra fees, while those who refused faced difficulties and delays.

Former hospital directors noted that a prosectorium's role should be limited to preparing the body for collection, cleaning, securing, and refrigerating it. However, at the Southern Hospital, services like embalming and cosmetic treatments were reportedly performed on-site. The storage and handling of death certificates also raised controversy, as access to this documentation allegedly allowed prosectorium staff to influence families' decisions during a difficult time. The prosecutor's office is reportedly investigating the matter.

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The body should only be prepared for collection, cleaned, secured, and placed in cold storage. All further procedures should take place outside the hospital.