Polish Briefing: State-owned companies will build temporary hospitals to fight the coronavirus

What goes on in Poland on the 4th of November.

State-owned companies will build temporary hospitals to fight the coronavirus

The Ministry of State Assets announced that State Treasury companies will build 15 temporary hospitals for COVID-19 patients throughout Poland. As a result, the domestic bed base will increase by nearly three thousand.

Last week, the government announced the creation of additional facilities to support the fight against the coronavirus. Eight state-owned companies are involved in the project: PKN Orlen, Tauron, PKO Bank Polski, Lotos, Totalizator Sportowy, Węglokoks, KGHM and Grupa Azoty. Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego is also involved in the project.

The ministry said that companies involved in the creating temporary hospitals together with voivodes and their sponsored hospitals have already started the task. The plans provide for the commissioning of the first hospitals in November.

PKN Orlen will take care of Masovian hospitals in Płock and Ostrołęka. KGHM will organize three hospitals in Lower Silesia and Węglokoks two in Silesia. Tauron and PKO Bank Polski will help the inhabitants of Małopolska. Hospitals will be established in Kraków, Tarnów and Krynica. Additionally, PKO Bank Polski will take care of the hospital in Poznań, and Totalizator – in Radom. Lotos, in turn, will organize a hospital in Gdańsk. In total, almost three thousand additional beds for coronavirus patients will be created throughout the country thanks to the activities of the companies.

The construction costs will be borne by the State Treasury. The companies will have an organizational and investment side. The medical and administrative side, i.e. ensuring administrative approvals, appropriate staff and equipment – to voivodes and patronage hospitals. It is with them that the companies agree on all the details – informs the ministry.