Law and Justice (PiS) MP Janusz Cieszyński has received a recording from a whistleblower concerning the preparation of an application for an assessment of the legitimacy of a healthcare investment. The politician announced that he would continue monitoring the case and suggested that irregularities may have occurred in the process of applying for public funds.
“This is not just any hospital. Its director is Izabela Leszczyna’s friend, Civic Platform (PO) councillor Beata Pochodnia, and her deputy is the wife of National Health Fund (NFZ) Vice President Marek Augustyn,” the politician stressed.
The recording captures a conversation between National Health Fund Vice President Marek Augustyn and an employee of the Blessed Virgin Mary Provincial Specialist Hospital in Częstochowa, commonly known as “Parkitka.” During the conversation, the NFZ vice president instructs the employee on how to correct an incorrectly prepared application related to the IOWISZ system, the Instrument for the Assessment of Investment Applications in the Healthcare Sector.
The politician also pointed to personal connections. In his social media post, Cieszyński noted that the director of the Częstochowa hospital is Beata Pochodnia, a Civic Platform councillor whom he described as an acquaintance of Health Minister Izabela Leszczyna. He also added that the hospital’s deputy director is the wife of NFZ Vice President Marek Augustyn.
Cieszyński stated that he does not know when the recording was made. At the same time, he said that during a parliamentary inspection at the Ministry of Health, he established that at the beginning of this year the hospital in Częstochowa filed an appeal concerning the case number mentioned in the conversation. According to the MP, after the case was reconsidered, the application’s score increased from 0 to 8,713.19 points.
The MP also said that the hospital is applying for approximately PLN 100 million under the National Oncology Strategy for the investment covered by the application in question. He announced that he would closely monitor the competition, arguing that the available funding will not be sufficient for all applicants.
Cieszyński also referred to actions taken by Izabela Leszczyna during her tenure as health minister. He recalled that she had notified the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA) regarding a competition for oncology investments financed by the Medical Fund. The CBA’s inspection did not confirm the allegations that had been made at the time against representatives of the previous government.
“Today it turns out that Ms. Leszczyna simply thought everyone operated the way her own people do,” Cieszyński said.
The politician also attached the recording he referred to in his post.