The information below presents rights and rules, which are binding in Poland, for lodging complaints regarding health care services.

CONTROL PROCEDURES

The minister competent for health is authorised to carry out inspections of medical entities with regard to:

• • compliance with the law;
  • medical issues.

The minister competent for health is authorised in particular to carry out the following operations:

• inspections in the premises;
• observation of actions related to provision of health care services in a manner which does not infringe the patient's rights;
• assessment of medical records;
• assessment of information and documentation other than medical records;
• assessment of the implementation of tasks stipulated in the organizational regulations with regard to the availability and quality of health care services;
• assessment of property and public funds management.

Carrying out an inspection may also be delegated to other entities, i.e.:

• voivodes;
• national consultants;
• organisational bodies under the authority of or supervised by the minister.

Supervision of medical entities, which are not enterprises is exercised by the body which created it.
Such supervision concerns compliance of the medical entity with provisions of law, the statute and the organisational regulations. The body which created the medical entity may request information, explanations and documents, and inspects and evaluates the activity of the entity.
Monitoring and evaluation includes in particular:

• implementation of tasks set out in the organisational regulations and the statute, the availability and quality of health care services;
• correctness of property and public funds management;
• financial management.

The inspection shall be carried out on the basis of an authorisation issued by the minister competent for health or the body creating the entity. Within the limitations of the authorisation, the inspecting body will have the right to:

• enter premises of the medical entity;
• access documents and other materials related to the activity of the entity;
• carry out a visual inspection;
• verify the course of specific activities;
• request oral and written explanations from the manager and the staff of the entity;
• secure evidence.

On the basis of the findings, the body creating the entity or the minister competent for health may provide the manager of the entity with follow-up recommendations to eliminate the identified irregularities.
The National Health Fund (NFZ) is also authorised to carry out inspections, but only in the capacity of a body financing health care services from public funds. The NFZ is entitled to carry out an inspection of the provision of benefits, in particular, with regard to:

• organisation and mode of provision of health care benefits and their availability;
• provision of health care benefits in terms of compliance with requirements stipulated in the contract on provision of health care benefits.
• the appropriateness of selected medicines and medical devices;
• compliance with principles of issuing prescriptions;
• medical records concerning health care benefits financed from public funds.

After the inspection, a follow-up statement is drawn up, which includes an evaluation of the activity conducted by the inspected entity and follow-up recommendations in the event of irregularities.

COMPLAINTS

An EU Patient who has concerns as to the health care services provided to him is entitled to lodge a complaint. The complaint should be submitted to the competent body, which depends on the subject of the complaint.
An EU patient is entitled to lodge:

• A complaint/intervention to the immediate supervisor, in particular with regard to:
  • the mode of provision of services,
  • the conduct of health care practitioners.

This solution can be applied to those entities in which, due to the nature of the business, the person performing the medical profession has a superior, such as a hospital, clinic;

• A complaint to the regional branch of the National Health Fund in the event of violation of patient's rights in the provision of benefits by health care providers, with which the Fund has entered into an agreement for the provision of those benefits (for more information, see here: https://www.ekuz.nfz.gov.pl/hidden_main_page/kontakt
• A complaint to the professional liability officer regarding the physician, nurse, midwife, pharmacist or laboratory diagnostician who provided the benefits to the competent authority of the professional association;
• Objection to the Medical Committee acting at Commissioner for Patients' Rights regarding the opinion or ruling referred to in Article 2 paragraph 1 of the Act of 5 December 1996 on the profession of physician and dental practitioner (Journal of Laws of 2011, No. 277, item 1634, as amended), if the opinion or ruling affects the rights or obligations of the patient under the law (based on Article 31 of the Act of 6 November 2011 on the rights of the patient and the Patient's Ombudsman).
• A complaint to the Commissioner for Patients’ Rights in the case of violation of the patient's rights by the health care provider(for more information, see here: http://www.bpp.gov.pl/);
• A complaint to the Inspector General for Personal Data Protection in matters relating to the violation of the provisions relating to the protection of personal data (more information can be found here: http://www.giodo.gov.pl/
• A complaint to the Ombudsman in the case of violation of the rights and freedoms of man and citizen in connection with the provision of health care services (more information can be found here: http://www.brpo.gov.pl/)
• A complaint to the Ombudsman for Children in the case when during the provision of health care benefits, a child's rights were violated (more information can be found here: http://www.brpd.gov.pl/
• A complaint to the regional consultant in health care who is entitled to raise a motion to regional councils of relevant local professional self-governments to carry out a quality control of health services provided by persons practising the medical profession on the basis of the provision of Article 10 paragraph 3 point 2 of the Act of 6 November 2008 on consultants in health care (Journal of Laws of 2009, No. 52, item 419, as amended).