The Medical Legion is growing stronger. Hundreds of doctors and rescuers on standby, the Ministry of National Defense reveals the details

Deputy Prime Minister and head of the Ministry of National Defense, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, announced on Friday that a thousand people have already signed up to join the Medical Legion, which has been operating for several weeks – doctors, rescuers, nurses, but also people from outside the medical community. He emphasized that the army wants to have its hospitals in every voivodeship.

Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz was a guest of the scientific conference “Intensive Care Forum 2026” at the Auditorium Maximum of the Jagiellonian University.

– Medical troops have been operating since September 15, 2025. Medical Legion for several weeks – recalled the head of the Ministry of National Defense at a press conference organized on the occasion of the conference in Krakow. He emphasized that “a thousand people, including about 800 medics, have already joined the Medical Legion.”

As he clarified, the people reported are doctors, rescuers, nurses, but also people from outside the medical community who want to help in times of threat of war. Participants of the Medical Legion will be able to take part – as the head of the Ministry of National Defense said – “in several career development paths” and mentioned, among others, “the course, taking the military oath and being part of the reserve.”

Thanking all those who applied to join the Legion, the Deputy Prime Minister noted that thanks to these applications it was possible to “map skills” that – if there was a war – would be used in the right places, e.g. in operating rooms in military hospitals. – We want to have full knowledge (about skills-PAP). The sooner you report, the better, said Kosiniak-Kamysz.

He also informed that over 100 various types of actions are planned this year, including training and courses organized in cooperation with civilian hospitals. – We are very intensively involved in cooperation between the military and civilian health services and health care. As an army, we want to have hospitals in every voivodeship, emphasized the head of the Ministry of National Defense.

The head of the Ministry of National Defense, asked on Friday about the financial situation in the health care system, including: he said he believed in the actions of the Ministry of Health. He assessed the situation of the health care system as “difficult”. In his opinion, repairing it without “funding from the state budget” will be difficult. He added that “hospital consolidation will free up financial spaces that will enable the improvement of this financial situation.” According to the head of the Ministry of National Defense, the “exodus” of medics has been stopped because their earnings are currently at par with those in other European countries.

The head of the Ministry of National Defense announced the establishment of the Legion in September last year. during the establishment of the Medical Forces Command, headed by Col. Mariusz Kiszka. As written by the Ministry of National Defense, the Legion is a civilian, volunteer initiative that is intended to quickly integrate the resources and competences of the medical community with the needs of the Polish Armed Forces. It will act as a consolidation platform that registers volunteers from the medical sector, conducts training and creates regional preparedness centers.

The National Health Fund deficit in 2026, according to estimates from the beginning of the year, was to amount to PLN 23 billion, and after the release of PLN 4 billion from the reserves of the Minister of Health, it was estimated at PLN 18 billion in March. The revenues of the National Health Fund in 2026 were initially planned at PLN 217.4 billion, including revenues from the health insurance premium at PLN 184.3 billion and the subjective subsidy from the state budget – at PLN 26 billion. (PAP)

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