This is a historic moment for patients treated at the University Clinical Hospital in Bialystok (USK). A contract worth nearly PLN 80 million has just been signed, thanks to which USK will significantly increase its diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities in the treatment of cancer in particular. The contract - which is a bagatelle of 500 pages - is the result of the award of funds from the National Plan for Reconstruction and Enhancement of Resilience (KPO). The project is worth a total of more than PLN 87.5 million (the hospital's own contribution: PLN 7,845,000) and aims to improve the quality and availability of oncology services through the purchase of modern diagnostic and therapeutic equipment and the appropriate modernisation of the hospital's infrastructure. Details of the investment were presented today (30 May 2025) at a press conference attended by representatives of the authorities of the Medical University of Bialystok, the management of the University Clinical Hospital, as well as state and provincial local authorities.
New equipment for patients - USK director on details of investment
The funds allocated from the National Reconstruction Plan will be used, among other things, for the purchase of modern diagnostic and surgical equipment, which will go to the clinics of lung diseases, urology, neurosurgery, gastroenterology, otolaryngology, maxillo-facial surgery, endocrinology, gynaecology, as well as the University Oncology Centre, the Department of Radiology and the Department of Nuclear Medicine.
The Director of the University Clinical Hospital, Professor Jan Kochanowicz, pointed out the importance of the planned purchases: 'This is a well-thought-out investment, resulting from the experience of our specialists. The new equipment will include a high-end CT scanner, equipment for scintigraphy, endoscopes for bronchoscopy and gastrointestinal diagnostics, as well as surgical robots enabling procedures to be performed in the least invasive manner possible.
As a result, as Director Kochanowicz stressed, patients will be able to return to health and social and professional life more quickly. In addition, the hospital will purchase a state-of-the-art cytostatic preparation robot for the preparation of oncology drugs.
Tendering procedures are currently underway for the hospital to select equipment suppliers. Modernisation work will also be carried out in the clinics and departments to prepare space for the new equipment. The director expressed the hope that all this could be done as quickly as possible, so that both patients and doctors would soon be able to use the purchased equipment.
MUB rector: the scale of the cancer problem is growing
The Rector of the Medical University of Bialystok, Prof. Marcin Moniuszko, referred to the data which indicate the urgent need to support the treatment of oncology patients in the region: 'Last year, we admitted 74,000 patients to our wards and 18,000 of them were oncology patients. (...) The number of patients with cancer will continue to grow, and it is the responsibility of all of us to provide them with the best possible medical care, including diagnostic and reparative measures that are associated with the use of, for example, oncological surgery methods. It is extremely important to provide these patients with the best possible conditions for diagnosis and therapy," said the Rector.
Significant support for modern thyroid cancer diagnosis and treatment
A significant beneficiary of the investment will be the Department of Endocrinology, Diabetology and Internal Medicine at USK, headed by Professor Adam Krętowski, Pro Vice-Rector for Digital Medicine and Clinical Research at MUB. Professor Krętowski emphasised the importance of the KPO funding in the context of thyroid cancer treatment.
We are the only centre in the region offering comprehensive treatment of thyroid cancer - from surgery to hormone treatment to radiotherapy. No other centre in north-eastern Poland offers such a complete therapeutic pathway. And now we will also be able to offer our patients thermoablation - a modern treatment method, based on the use of laser and ultrasound, which allows lesions to be removed point-wise, without surgery. This is a huge step forward. Classical thyroid surgery is often a mutilating procedure. Thermoablation offers the possibility to effectively treat smaller lesions without such a major intrusion into the body.
Education and treatment - the dual role of the hospital
The multifunctional role of the USK was recalled by the Vice- Rector for Clinical Hospitals and Postgraduate Education, Professor Janusz Dzięcioł. The professor pointed out that the University Clinical Hospital plays two roles: it is a place for treating patients and educating future doctors, and the new equipment acquired with KPO funds will also have a huge impact on the modern education of future generations of doctors.
The voice of the authorities - ‘this is an investment in the health of the region's population’.
Deputy Krzysztof Truskolaski emphasised that this investment from KPO funds would be a huge support for the largest hospital in our voivodship. The clinical hospital must develop, must expand, because it treats all of us patients from the Podlasie voivodeship," the deputy added.
Podlasie Province Governor Jacek Brzozowski emphasised that the donated funds are a real investment in the health of the region's inhabitants. As he pointed out, a great deal has already been done in recent years to raise the standard of medical care in the voivodeship, and the modern equipment which will soon be handed over to the USK will serve to save patients' health and lives even better.
In turn, Podlasie Province Marshal Łukasz Prokorym pointed out that for the patient it does not matter what type of hospital they are treated in - the most important thing is that they receive effective, fast and safe help. Therefore, the provincial government welcomed the information about the support for USK, declaring further involvement in supporting the development of Podlasie's health care institutions.
We also wrote about record-breaking subsidies from KPO to the Medical University of Bialystok HERE
The conference was also attended by MUB Chancellor Konrad Raczkowski, responsible for investment activities at the University.
