“You will be watching the performances of my colleague Bartek Arłukowicz tomorrow. He speaks quickly, so it’s worth having a handful of facts at hand,” wrote Janusz Cieszyński, publishing a summary concerning the closure of maternity and neonatal wards. According to the politician, since July 2025 such wards have been closed or suspended in 39 hospitals. The post appeared in response to Bartosz Arłukowicz’s announcement of a speech on the situation in healthcare.
Janusz Cieszyński’s post was published on the eve of the discussion on the healthcare system announced by Bartosz Arłukowicz. The politician indicated that “with the consent of voivodes appointed by Donald Tusk’s government, since July 2025 maternity/neonatal wards have been closed or suspended in 39 hospitals (25 permanently closed, 14 suspended).”
In his summary, Cieszyński listed facilities where wards were permanently closed. In July 2025, this reportedly included, among others, Pyskowice, Olkusz, Krynica-Zdrój, and Żory. In the following months, he pointed to, among others, Szczebrzeszyn and Przeworsk (August), Gostyń, Nowy Tomyśl, and Głowno (September), as well as Bielsk Podlaski, Bydgoszcz, and Jarocin (November).
The list also included facilities from December 2025, such as those in Bielsko-Biała, Leżajsk, Lesko, Dąbrowa Tarnowska, and Kętrzyn, as well as from January and February 2026, including Łańcut, Radzyń Podlaski, Turek, Siemianowice Śląskie, and Katowice.
Cieszyński also referred to earlier systemic decisions.
“Of course, it is true that wards were also closed under previous governments,” he wrote, adding, however, that—as he indicated—“it was Izabela Leszczyna who officially published a list of maternity wards to be closed,” followed by an announcement that wards “where fewer than two children are born per day” would be shut down.
The post is a response to Bartosz Arłukowicz’s announcement of a planned discussion concerning, among other things, “thousands of hospital beds and pharmacies liquidated under PiS,” as well as changes to the in vitro program and the financing of emergency medical services.