Healthcare System In Poland

• 112 – EUROPEAN EMERGENCY NUMBER
• 997 – POLICE
• 998 – FIRE DEPARTMENT
• 999 – AMBULANCE  

Public healthcare in Poland is financed through the National Health Fund (PL: Narodowy Fundusz Zdrowia, NFZ). All persons employed in Poland on the basis of an employment contract (PL: umowa o pracę), including international employees, are obligated to pay health insurance fees, which are deducted from their salary. This is usually done by the employer. Being employed automatically means being insured with ZUS/NFZ. It allows international employees to insure their family members as well (more information here). 

In Poland, an insured employee is obligated to register their family members for health insurance coverage under the employment contract. Family members are children, spouses, parents, and grandparents, provided they live in the same household in Poland as the employee and do not have their own title of insurance. Their personal details such as name, surname and a PESEL number (personal identification number) must be provided to the Employee Affairs Centre, room 10 in the rector’s office building (Narutowicza 68) to register family members. No additional or higher contributions will be charged for adding family members. 

Health care dispensaries are usually open from Monday to Friday, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Before making your first appointment with the GP, you need to register at the NFZ financed clinic (PL: POZ, Podstawowa Opieka Zdrowotna), closest to your place of residence or work. If you seek medical help in English, you might consider using medical services at Vitaplus clinic located near university campus. Vitaplus clinic - Lumumby 14, Tel: (42) 678 18 08 

In case of illness or any other health problems, your general practitioner (GP) will be the one to decide on treatment, issue a prescription or, if needed, provide you with a referral to see a specialist or undergo further medical examinations. Apart from a few exceptions (e.g. gynaecologist, psychiatrist, dentist), a referral from a GP is required to make an appointment with a specialist.  

If you are unwell outside of your clinic’s opening hours (after 6 p.m. on workdays, as well as on Saturdays, Sundays and on public holidays), you may visit one of the hospital emergency departments (PL: Szpitalny Oddział Ratunkowy SOR). Below you can find addresses of emergency departments in Lodz: 

• Centralny Szpital Kliniczny Uniwersytetu Medycznego w Łodzi, Sporna 36, Tel: (42) 617 79 99
• Instytut Centrum Zdrowia Matki Polki, Rzgowska 281, Tel: (42) 271 13 38
• Wojewódzkie Wielospecjalistyczne Centrum Onkologii i Traumatologii im. M. Kopernika w Łodzi, Pabianicka 62, Tel: (42) 689 51 29
• Uniwersytecki Szpital Kliniczny im. Wojskowej Akademii Medycznej UM, Żeromskiego 113, Tel: (42) 639 34 20, (42) 639 34 24
• Uniwersytecki Szpital Kliniczny Nr 1 im. Norberta Barlickiego, Kopcińskiego 22, Tel: (42) 677 66 00
• Miejskie Centrum Medyczne im. dr. Karola Jonschera w Łodzi, Milionowa 14, Tel: (42) 676 19 26 

Pharmacies (PL: APTEKA) 24/7 in Lodz: 

• Apteka Melissa, Narutowicza 55, Tel: (42) 630 50 88
• Apteka Cito, Żeromskiego 39, Tel: (42) 633 48 29
• Apteka Medest VI , Bratysławska 2a, Tel: (42) 688 48 48
• Apteka Rosa
• Tatrzańska 42/44, Tel: (42) 643 23 78
• Apteka Dar Zdrowia, Rzgowska 51, Tel: (42) 646 40 95
• SuperTaniaApteka.pl, Limanowskiego 80, Tel: (42) 653 92 03
• Apteka Dbam o Zdrowie, Niciarniana 15, Tel: 736 697 604
• Apteka Zdrowit, Wyszyńskiego 99, Tel: (42) 239 79 15
• Apteka Dbam o Zdrowie, Rydzowa 22, Tel: 736 697 912 

When it comes to private healthcare, persons employed at the University of Lodz based on employment contracts (except for trial-period contracts) may benefit from additional, private healthcare services provided by LUX MED Sp. z o.o. from 1 May 2024, cofinanced by the employer and their family.
Each of the packages comes in 2 variants: basic and extended. 
More information about joining the private healthcare programme at the University of Lodz, fees, terms, and conditions are available on the Employee Portal. 

The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) gives you free access to necessary medical services when travelling temporarily in the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland for tourism or work purposes. 
It is a two-way card, which means that anyone who is covered by the state-funded National Health Insurance Scheme in Poland can obtain an EHIC – free of charge from the National Health Insurance Scheme office responsible for their place of residence. 
It is important to note, however, that the EHIC entitles you to medical services under the same conditions as a resident of a particular country. This means that if a certain service is free in Poland, it may not be free abroad. More about EHIC 

If you are moving to or living in another EU country, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland, you should get an S1 document instead of an EHIC to get health care in your new country of residence, provided you are still employed under the contract of employment in Poland. An S1 entitles you to healthcare if you don't live in the country where you are insured. It can be useful for posted or frontier employees, pensioners and their family members. 
To obtain the S1 document in Poland, you must apply to the NFZ. The document should be registered with the health insurance institution in your new country of residence. You can submit the S1 request form by sending an email to: kancelaria@nfz-lodz.pl