Everyday life
Clinics and the NFZ in Gdańsk: where do I start?
Verified: September 2026 Checked by: Maria Jamrozik
Step by step
- Check that you have active health insurance, through an employment contract, a mandate contract registered with ZUS, or registration by a family member.
- Find the nearest primary care clinic (POZ) in your district of Gdańsk.
- Go to the reception desk with your identity document and PESEL number.
- Fill in the declaration choosing your primary care doctor, nurse and midwife (available on site).
- From the moment you file the declaration you can book appointments, prescriptions and referrals to specialists free of charge.
Primary healthcare in Poland is built around POZ clinics (Podstawowa Opieka Zdrowotna). You do not need to be registered as a resident of a particular district to sign up with a given clinic, choose whichever is most convenient and closest to where you live.
How the system works:
- Your family doctor: handles basic treatment and issues referrals to specialists (a cardiologist, neurologist or ophthalmologist, for example) and for diagnostic tests.
- No referral needed: you can go directly to a gynaecologist, oncologist, psychiatrist, venereologist or dentist (within publicly funded services).
- Night and holiday healthcare: for sudden illness outside clinic opening hours (at night from 18:00 to 8:00, and around the clock at weekends and on public holidays), designated points in Gdańsk are on duty, at the Copernicus Hospital or in Zaspa, for example.
A tip from the Mozaika team: log in to pacjent.gov.pl using your Trusted Profile. The Patient’s Online Account holds all your e-prescriptions (with the barcode for the pharmacy), e-sick-notes and your appointment history.
Where to look next
Official offices and verified external sources.
Does this not match your situation?
Marta Wagner-Mejna holds free consultations (legal guidance and official matters). The conversation runs in Polish, English. No referral, no fees.