Tusk promised PLN 4.2 billion for child and adolescent psychiatry. They checked the implementation of the government's promise

The ruling coalition was going into the elections with a demand to provide 3 billion zlotys for child and adolescent psychiatry. In June 2024, the Health Ministry announced the allocation of an even larger sum - 4.2 billion zlotys - for this purpose. The 3 billion came from the Medical Fund and the 1.2 billion from the European Union. Today, after many months, the GrowSPACE Foundation presents an analysis of this spending based on data obtained from the Ministry of Health.

Major applications and record investments

The ruling coalition went to the elections with a demand to transfer 3 billion zlotys for child and adolescent psychiatry. This demand was realized with the settlement of a competition for funding of specific medical facilities. Investments have been made in the infrastructure of child and adolescent psychiatry departments in monospecialty and multispecialty hospitals.

In July 2025, documents were published showing that the total amount of investment funding is PLN 3,166,733,867. A total of 151 project proposals were evaluated in the competition. By decision of the Ministry of Health, 53 strategic investments were selected, including 9 large projects and 44 small projects.

The most funds went to the Małopolska province, which received a total of PLN 426,404,393. Next was the Łódzkie Voivodeship, which received PLN 392,721,029. In third place was the Greater Poland province with a total of PLN 295,602,992.

Among the record-breaking investments and largest strategic projects will be:

● Specialized Psychiatric Healthcare Complex in Lodz. There, as much as PLN 200,000,000 will be allocated for the construction of a new "Lodz Neuropsychiatry Center."

● Next Ex aequo we have the Multispecialty Regional Hospital in Gorzow Wielkopolski. There, PLN 200,000,000 will be allocated for the reconstruction and modernization of hospital buildings and the retrofitting of technical and medical infrastructure to improve the quality and accessibility of comprehensive psychiatric care.

● The second facility with the largest amount is the Independent Public Specialized Health Care Facility "Zdroje" in Szczecin. There, PLN 199,960,000 will be allocated for the construction of a building for inpatient and outpatient treatment of mental illnesses in children and adolescents, along with equipment and adjustment of external infrastructure under the strategic infrastructure subfund.

● In third place is the Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology in Warsaw. There, PLN 197,640,000 will be used to revitalize infrastructure and build new usable facilities.

- The winds of positive change are blowing for child and adolescent psychiatry in Poland. We should regard the record funds and investments as a first, but milestone, step toward improving the comfort of young patients and clients. The planned investments have a chance to reach those places where help has so far been lacking. We consider the promise of the 2023 election campaign to have been fulfilled, but this does not relieve anyone from continuing to work for the mental safety of the youngest, comments Dominik Kuc of the GrowSPACE Foundation, co-author of the prepared analysis - As the GrowSPACE Foundation, we have been consistently monitoring the state of public institutions' activities around mental health since January 2023. I believe that support for young people in crisis should also take place through pre-medical and pre-psychological support. Therefore, with the new Health Minister we want to talk about further directions of support. We will certainly raise the topic of health education and its promotion.

What investments will be made?

According to the information obtained, 33.96% of the total investments are upgrades to existing child and adolescent psychiatry units, followed ex-aequo by 26.42% each, i.e. 14 investments will be carried out in the form of: expansion of existing wards or units, remodeling of existing wards or units, and retrofitting of wards. An important step is that 7 investments will increase the availability of care for the youngest.

Many investments are spread over years. The money will be spent until 2029.

What should be the next steps?

- The Ministry of Health has directed unprecedented resources to invest in child and adolescent psychiatry infrastructure. We need further solutions that are available here and now. It's time to implement the next steps of prevention and prevention efforts. As the GrowSPACE Foundation, we believe that starting in August, the Ministry of Health together with the Ministry of Education should actively promote and encourage participation in health education classes. There, there will be key mental health issues that should reach all young people. An emphasis on education can realistically raise awareness of mental health and support prevention and crisis prevention through early recognition -- declares Nina Slugocka, health project coordinator with GrowSPACE.

The GrowSPACE Foundation submitted a letter to the Health Ministry's office after the press conference, requesting a meeting with new Health Minister Jolanta Sobieranska-Grenda. Among other things, the organization wants to talk about health education, further preventive measures and safety, and the rights of young patients/women.

The analysis of the Health Ministry's spending was prepared by the GrowSPACE Foundation with support from the Ludwika and Henryk Wujca Civic Fund.

Source: GrowSpace