Spa treatment can help us recover after an illness or accident. In 2025, more than 40,000 residents of Lower Silesia used it. Common indications for sanatorium treatment include, for example, orthopaedic and trauma-related conditions, rheumatic diseases, cardiovascular diseases and hypertension, neurological diseases, and diseases of the upper and lower respiratory tracts.
At present, in Lower Silesia, the waiting time for spa treatment in a sanatorium for adults is approximately eight months. However, if we are ready to leave earlier, we can significantly shorten this time. Last year, more than a thousand people went for treatment earlier than the estimated waiting time would have suggested. How is this possible?
“Some people give up the sanatorium treatment they have been granted. This usually happens for health reasons, such as an unexpected illness, and less often for personal reasons, such as a family situation or professional commitments. These places go into the so-called cancellation pool and are assigned to the next people waiting to be given a date. If there is little time left before departure, they go to those who have informed the Fund that they are interested in leaving quickly,” says Anna Szewczuk-Łebska, spokesperson for the Lower Silesian NFZ.
What needs to be done?
If we want to go to a sanatorium in place of someone who has given up treatment at the last minute, we should submit a request to the Lower Silesian Voivodeship Branch of NFZ to leave from the cancellation pool. This can be done by post (address: 55 Generała Romualda Traugutta Street, 50-416 Wrocław) or by email (at kancelaria@nfz-wroclaw.pl), providing the referral number assigned by NFZ and a telephone number at which we can be easily reached. However, we should do this only after receiving confirmation that we have qualified for treatment and have been given a referral number, but have not yet received the assigned location and departure date. It is also very important to submit such an application only when we are actually ready to leave, even at less than 14 days’ notice.
A doctor’s referral is essential
The basis for going for spa treatment is a referral issued by a health insurance doctor, meaning one who has a contract with NFZ. Most often, this is a primary care physician. The doctor attaches the latest test results and, if the patient has been hospitalised within the last three months, also a hospital discharge summary. In doing so, the doctor takes into account the patient’s current state of health, medical indications or contraindications, and the potential impact of spa treatment on their health. Referrals are now electronic, so they no longer need to be delivered to the Fund in person.
Each referral is then reviewed individually by a doctor employed by NFZ. If, on the basis of the patient’s medical records, the doctor confirms that treatment is possible, we will receive feedback specifying the type of treatment (for example, a sanatorium or a spa hospital), the referral number, and the estimated waiting period before treatment begins. If we want to use the cancellation pool for sanatorium treatment and are ready to leave immediately, this is the moment when we can submit an application for such a trip. After that, all that remains is to wait for a call from an employee of the Fund with a proposed departure. If we do not receive such a call, it means that no place matching our treatment profile has become available.