An ambulance fleet manager planning to replace an ambulance in 2026 comes across search engine articles about a call for co-funding ambulance purchases — complete with specific amounts, deadlines, and results. The problem is that most of these materials describe a call for applications that ended in the autumn of 2023 and has not seen a continuation since. This article clarifies the current status: whether such a mechanism actually exists in 2026, where the misleading search results come from, and what real funding sources can be used to plan an ambulance purchase today.
Is There an Ambulance Purchase Co-funding Program Operating in 2026?
No — in 2026, there is no separate, dedicated program for co-funding ambulance purchases under the Medical Fund. The last competition of this kind, targeted at healthcare entities with emergency medical teams (ZRM), was concluded in 2023, and deliveries of the funded vehicles were completed in 2024. The Ministry of Health has not announced a subsequent edition or any plans for a new call for applications for 2026.
This does not mean that the topic of fleet replacement has disappeared from the ministry’s agenda. It only means that there is currently no active mechanism intended exclusively for the purchase of ambulances — and facilities planning a purchase should take this into account in their schedule, instead of holding off on a decision while waiting for a program whose announcement date is unknown.
The Last Completed Competition: What Happened in 2023
As announced by the Ministry of Health, the competition — to which most online materials still refer — launched on September 25, 2023. It was an ambulance replacement program targeted exclusively at healthcare entities that wanted to replace an existing vehicle designated as primary in the Command Support System of the State Emergency Medical Services (PRM). The call for applications lasted just eight days — until October 2, 2023 — and did not provide for purchasing vehicles to create new emergency medical teams.
2023 Competition Conditions
| Parameter | Value |
| Competition announcement | September 25, 2023 |
| Application deadline | until October 2, 2023, 11:59 PM |
| Competition budget | PLN 75 million |
| Maximum grant per vehicle | PLN 600,000 |
| Application limit per entity | 6 (one for each replaced ambulance) |
| Vehicle eligibility condition | age over 5 years or mileage over 250,000 km |
| Scope of co-funding | ambulance along with additional equipment |
The Ministry of Health reported that the competition concluded with the signing of 72 contracts for the purchase of 121 ambulances worth a total of PLN 72.4 million. Applications were evaluated for compliance of the purchased vehicle with Polish Standard PN-EN 1789 — the same technical requirement that applies today, regardless of the source of funding.
Why Archival Pages Still Mislead Facilities Planning Purchases
This is the main cause of confusion: gov.pl pages describing the outcome of the 2023 competition remain fully indexed and — thanks to the high domain authority of government websites — regularly appear high in search results for queries about ambulance co-funding in any year. Search result snippets rarely show the publication date, so the reader sees phrases such as “call for ambulance replacement launched” without the context that they refer to a call from three years ago.
None of the general overviews of funding for medical facilities for 2026 — and there is no shortage of such materials online — directly answers the question of whether the 2023 ambulance program is being continued. These materials describe other funding streams (Primary Healthcare [POZ], Specialist Outpatient Care [AOS], energy infrastructure), omitting the subject of purchasing ambulances entirely, which in itself does not resolve the doubts of a person looking for information about ambulances.
What Funding Sources Are Actually Available in 2026
Although there is no dedicated ambulance program, medical facilities planning investments in 2026 can draw on several other mechanisms. However, none of them is intended directly for purchasing an ambulance — it is worth keeping this distinction in mind when planning the budget.
- Strategic Infrastructure Sub-Fund — a pool of around PLN 1 billion targeted at infrastructure investments in healthcare entities, without a component dedicated to purchasing medical transport fleets.
- FEnIKS “health in readiness” — a program covering, among others, air ambulance services and blood donation centers, not including the purchase of road ambulances for emergency medical teams (ZRM).
- Accessibility Plus for AOS — support for specialist outpatient care facilities with at least three years of experience in settlements with the National Health Fund (NFZ), with a grant of up to PLN 600,000 for equipment and IT hardware, call for applications planned for the first quarter of 2026.
- NFOŚiGW Energy Efficiency Program — concerns the energy modernization of buildings, not vehicle fleets.
A facility that aligns with one of the above profiles may consider these avenues for other investment goals — but none of them will replace direct budgeting for the purchase of an ambulance.
The EN 1789 Standard Applies Regardless of the Source of Funding
Regardless of where the funds for the purchase come from — from the facility’s own budget, leasing, or possible future targeted grants — the vehicle being purchased must meet the requirements of the EN 1789:2020+A1:2024 standard (European technical standard for road ambulances, adopted in Poland as PN-EN 1789). The standard defines the classification of vehicles into types A, B, and C — corresponding to the Polish designations T, P, and S in the PRM system — as well as specific technical requirements: equipment mountings resistant to 10G loads, smooth and washable interior surfaces, and a minimum IP44 protection level for sockets and electrical system inlets.
It is compliance with this standard, and not the financing method, that was a qualification requirement in the 2023 competition and remains a qualification requirement in every public tender for an ambulance today. Manufacturers such as KG Special Performance offer type A, B, and C vehicles based on both the Volkswagen Crafter and Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, with EN 1789:2020+A1:2024, ISO 9001 certificates, and EU type-approval — allowing facilities to plan a compliant purchase regardless of which financing path they ultimately choose.
How to Plan an Ambulance Purchase Without Waiting for a New Competition
Since the date of announcing a potential next competition is unknown, a rational strategy is to plan the purchase based on currently available funds rather than holding off on a decision. In practice, this means preparing a technical specification aligned with the required vehicle type (T, P, or S) right now, planning a budget that accounts for real, currently available funding sources, and comparing vehicle bases — the VW Crafter offers approximately 83 mm greater interior width compared to the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, translating into more workspace around the stretcher, while the Sprinter wins with the global reach of its service network.
If a new co-funding program is announced, a facility with a ready specification and market research will be able to submit an application faster than competitors — considering that the application period in 2023 lasted just eight days.
FAQ
The Ministry of Health has not announced such an intention or schedule for 2026. Facilities planning a purchase should base their budget on currently available funding sources, not on waiting for a future call.
The call for applications lasted eight days — from September 25 to October 2, 2023, until 11:59 PM. Applications were submitted exclusively electronically via the Investment Project Management Platform.
Yes. The co-funding covered the purchase of the vehicle along with additional equipment, not just the base vehicle itself.
No. The technical requirements of the EN 1789:2020+A1:2024 standard apply regardless of whether the purchase is funded by a grant, a facility’s own budget, or leasing.
