The Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw has once again confirmed that patients have the right to be treated only with methods that are in line with current medical knowledge. The court dismissed two complaints by a medical entity that used salinomycin, vitamin C and curcumin infusions, and bio-electrotherapy, among other methods in cancer therapy. The actions were found to have violated patients' collective rights.
Court dismisses complaints by treatment entity. Another ruling favorable to patients
Published Oct. 31, 2025 07:31
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October 29, 2025. The Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw (ref. V SA/Wa 2854/23) dismissed a complaint by a medical entity against a decision by the Patient Ombudsman that challenged the use of salinomycin, vitamin C and curcumin infusions and bioelectrotherapy in oncology treatment. The Ombudsman found that such treatment violated the collective right of patients to health care services corresponding to the requirements of current medical knowledge, under Article 6(1) of the Law on Patients' Rights and the Patients' Ombudsman.
Expert opinion and scientific evidence as a basis for decisions
The Ombudsman's investigation was based on a comprehensive expert analysis. Opinions of six provincial consultants in the fields of clinical oncology, radiation oncology and oncologic surgery (two specialists in each field) were obtained in the case. Also taken into account were the position of the Supreme Medical Council on worthless or potentially harmful treatments, the report of the NRL's expert panel, and materials from the Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Tarification.
On this basis, the Ombudsman concluded that the methods used by the entity lacked scientific justification and could not be treated as health services.
Court: no division between "supportive" and "complementary" treatment
The WSA fully agreed with the Patient Ombudsman's argument, stressing that the law does not provide for a category of "complementary" or "adjunctive" services that can be used without scientific evidence. Each element of therapy must correspond to current medical knowledge.
The court noted that medical activity is a regulated activity and concerns the protection of the highest values - life and health. Therefore, it requires special care, professionalism and full compliance with applicable regulations.
Financial penalty for failure to implement the decision
However, the treatment entity did not comply with the Ombudsman's decision and did not stop the challenged practices. As a result, a financial penalty of PLN 245,000 was imposed on it. The WSA also upheld this decision - which was appealed in case number V SA/Wa 1472/24 (judgment of October 28, 2025).
The court agreed with the Ombudsman both in its assessment that the practices violated patients' collective rights and in setting the amount of the penalty.
Patient safety a priority
- Patient safety is a priority. They should be guaranteed access to effective and safe treatments in professional medical facilities. Actions that are inconsistent with current medical knowledge, or attempts to treat outside medical facilities by people and methods that have nothing to do with medicine, are extremely dangerous. The new legislation, dubbed 'lex charlatan', is intended to strengthen the Ombudsman's role in countering pseudo-medical practices and enable him to respond more effectively to the activities of entities offering therapies that have no scientific basis. - Bartlomiej Chmielowiec, Patient Ombudsman, points out.
Source: MPC
