Hospice and Palliative Care in Poland: NFZ Referral and Costs
Short answer: Palliative and hospice care in Poland is free under the NFZ for adults and children with incurable, progressive illness. Any NFZ doctor can refer you, and you can choose any hospice with an NFZ contract.
Palliative and hospice care is a hard subject, and families often do not know that it is part of the public health system. This guide follows the patient guide published by the National Health Fund (NFZ) on its website, listed with a date of 25 March 2026. It describes what the care covers, who can use it and how to get a place.
Who can use it
Both adults and children with incurable, progressive, life-limiting illnesses can receive palliative and hospice care funded by the NFZ. NFZ describes it as care for the stage when treatment of the cause no longer works or cannot be carried out for other reasons. It is not only for cancer patients. People with other serious illnesses can also receive it. A separate form, perinatal palliative care, supports parents expecting a child with a severe, incurable condition or a serious, irreversible impairment.
Hospice care does not treat the disease itself. According to NFZ, it aims to ease symptoms, relieve pain and improve quality of life, and to support the patient and the family.
Referral
To be admitted to a hospice, a patient needs a referral from a doctor working within the NFZ system, and a diagnosis of an incurable, progressive disease with no chance of cure. NFZ says any doctor who sees patients under the NFZ can issue the referral. If the doctor decides that the patient qualifies, the referral goes to one of three forms of care: a home hospice, an inpatient hospice, or a palliative medicine clinic.
The patient must consent to hospice care. For children, parents or legal guardians consent, and a child aged 16 or older must also agree. The patient can stop the care at any time, because it is voluntary.
NFZ says the patient may choose any hospice that has a contract with the NFZ, and there is no regional assignment. A patient can also switch to another hospice later.
Three forms of care
A palliative medicine clinic suits patients whose condition is fairly stable. They can come to the clinic, or receive a home visit if they have trouble moving. A visit can include a medical history, an examination, the choice and prescription of drugs, including painkillers, diagnostic tests, orders for nursing procedures, referrals to other providers such as a home or inpatient hospice, medical opinions, and psychological or nursing support at home.
A home hospice lets the patient stay at home. According to NFZ, the patient has round-the-clock access to medical services seven days a week. A doctor gives advice as needed, but at least twice a month. A nurse visits at least twice a week. A physiotherapist and a psychologist can also consult or visit, at a frequency set by the hospice doctor. The hospice also provides the medical equipment needed for care, and NFZ lists an oxygen concentrator or other oxygen source, an electric suction device, an inhaler, a glucometer, a blood pressure monitor, an infusion pump, and walking aids and a wheelchair.
An inpatient hospice or a palliative medicine ward cares for the patient in a facility. NFZ says the team usually includes a doctor, a nurse, a psychologist and a physiotherapist, and in inpatient hospices and palliative wards also a medical caregiver. Inpatient hospices also offer pastoral care.
Cost and medicines
NFZ states that palliative and hospice care, whether in a hospice, at home or in a clinic, is free and funded by the NFZ. Medicines depend on the form of care. In an inpatient hospice or a palliative ward, the facility supplies them. In a home hospice or a clinic, the doctor writes a prescription, and the patient buys the drugs at a pharmacy.
Support for the family
The family of a hospice patient can see a psychologist or psychiatrist without a referral through mental health clinics or community mental health centres funded by the NFZ. NFZ adds that after a perinatal palliative care case, parents who lose a child are entitled to psychological support for 28 days after the birth.
What the guide does not say
The NFZ guide does not address foreigners, and it does not explain how insurance status affects access. If you or a relative are not covered by the NFZ, ask a doctor or the local NFZ branch whether you can use these services and on what terms. The guide also does not name hospices by region.
* Photos: Jakub Torenc (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0) and Abraham (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0). Illustrative.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a referral to a hospice in Poland?
Yes. NFZ says admission to a hospice requires a referral from a doctor working under the NFZ, and a diagnosis of an incurable, progressive disease. Any such doctor can issue it.
Is hospice care free?
According to the NFZ guide, palliative and hospice care in a hospice, at home or in a clinic is free and funded by the NFZ. In home hospice and clinic care, you buy prescribed medicines at a pharmacy.
Can I choose the hospice?
Yes. NFZ says there is no regional assignment, so a patient can choose any hospice with an NFZ contract and can change to another one later.
