Night and holiday healthcare in Poland: rules and directories for 16 voivodeships

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Is your clinic closed and your child has a fever of 39 degrees? Earache at 23:00, diarrhoea on a Sunday, an asthma flare-up over a public holiday? These are the situations covered by NiŚOZ (nocna i świąteczna opieka zdrowotna — night and holiday healthcare), funded by NFZ (Narodowy Fundusz Zdrowia — Polish National Health Fund) and available without a referral in every voivodeship. There are currently 569 NiŚOZ service points in Poland. Below are the rules for using the service and links to directories of facilities with addresses and telephone numbers for all 16 voivodeships, compiled using NFZ data (September 2026).

Directories of service points by voivodeship

• Lower Silesian (41 service points)
• Kuyavian-Pomeranian (28 service points)
• Lublin (27 service points)
• Lubusz (18 service points)
• Łódź (29 service points)
• Lesser Poland (49 service points)
• Masovian (92 service points)
• Opole (17 service points)
• Subcarpathian (31 service points)
• Podlaskie (20 service points)
• Pomeranian (33 service points)
• Silesian (68 service points)
• Świętokrzyskie (19 service points)
• Warmian-Masurian (28 service points)
• Greater Poland (42 service points)
• West Pomeranian (27 service points)

When night and holiday healthcare is available

Monday to Friday from 18:00 to 8:00 the following day, and round the clock on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. During these hours, the NiŚOZ doctor and nurse take over primary healthcare duties: they provide consultations, issue electronic prescriptions and electronic sick notes, give injections and carry out nursing procedures ordered by a doctor, and make home visits where justified. Outside these hours, you should contact your own POZ (podstawowa opieka zdrowotna — primary healthcare) clinic.

When to attend and when to call 112

Szpitalny oddział ratunkowy (SOR, hospital emergency department) and izba przyjęć (hospital admissions unit) are for emergencies; attending with a cold lengthens the queue for patients with life-threatening conditions and usually means waiting for many hours.

Rules worth remembering

• No catchment areas: you can attend any service point in the country, regardless of your home address or the clinic where you are registered.
• Without a referral and free of charge for insured people; entitlement is checked through the eWUŚ system, and you need an identity document (a PESEL number is sufficient for a child).
• Telephone consultations: most facilities offer advice by telephone; it is worth calling before setting off, especially with a young child.
• Home visits: only where medically justified (a bedridden patient); the doctor on duty decides.
• Paediatrician: not available at every service point; the voivodeship directories indicate where a paediatrician is available (Masovia); elsewhere, it is worth asking by telephone.
• Information: the free Telefoniczna Informacja Pacjenta NFZ (NFZ Patient Information Helpline), 800 190 590, operates round the clock and can help you find the nearest service point, but does not provide medical advice.
• Dentist: emergency dental care has separate duty hours (19:00–7:00 on weekdays, round the clock at weekends and on public holidays); NFZ publishes the directory.

After your visit: tests that night healthcare cannot provide

The doctor on duty does not have access to a laboratory and does not order routine tests funded by NFZ. If they recommend a full blood count, CRP, glucose, electrolytes, liver function tests or a urine test, the quickest option is to have them done privately in the morning, without a referral: buy online, have your sample collected at one of over 800 ALAB, Synevo and ETER-MED collection points, and receive your result online the same or the next day to show your GP. The result report is issued in Polish. Current prices for a full blood count with differential, CRP and urinalysis are shown on BadamySie.pl. Collection point addresses and opening hours: blood tests near you.

Frequently asked questions

Can night healthcare issue a sick note?

Yes, a NiŚOZ doctor can issue an e-ZLA electronic sick note if your health condition justifies it, including backdating it by up to 3 days where justified.

Do you need health insurance?

Services are free for insured people and those entitled to healthcare benefits. An uninsured person will receive help but may be charged for it; in an emergency, help is always provided.

Where does the information in the directories come from?

From the NFZ “Gdzie się leczyć” (“Where to get treatment”) search tool and directories published by NFZ voivodeship branches, as of September 2026. Contracts change during the year, so it is worth confirming by telephone before your visit that the facility is seeing patients.