A patient died at Warsaw’s Nowowiejski Hospital in April 2025 after receiving opioid prescriptions illegally sold via mobile payment by a doctor.
The Hospital Incident
The night of April 11-12, 2025, on the psychiatric ward of Nowowiejski Hospital in central Warsaw, patients remained awake, watched films, and consumed both staff-issued and smuggled medications. Among these were methadone syrup and potent opioids.
By morning, a critical situation unfolded: 38-year-old Maciej Bubel and 22-year-old Adam suffered sudden cardiac arrest. Reanimation was initiated. One patient attempted suicide by self-inflicted cuts, citing a mental impulse after drug ingestion. Adam was revived, but later suffered another arrest at the police station; Maciej Bubel could not be saved.
The Prescription Racket
Days before Bubel’s death, patient Monika texted “Pielęgniarka4” for prescriptions, receiving payment instructions via mobile transfer for 300 złotych. She obtained an e-prescription for strong opioids and antidepressants.
A taxi driver, posing as a family member, collected the drugs from a pharmacy in a candy package. “Pielęgniarka4” was identified as 52-year-old Dr. Piotr M., who repeatedly issued prescriptions including morphine and subsidized opioids using the identity of a 69-year-old Warsaw woman without her knowledge.
The Doctor’s Arrest
Piotr M. earned 150-300 złoties per prescription over months. A week after Bubel’s death, he was arrested after crashing into a fence while driving despite court bans, biting a drug test device, and being taken to a hospital instead of undergoing tests.
In September 2025, police interrupted his hospital shift, arresting him alongside a chaplain. Both were detained in an investigation into an organized drug trafficking ring supplying nationwide and internationally via darknet and social media.
Wider Implications
Piotr M. faces malpractice charges for misdiagnosing a stroke patient as having “COVID fog” during a 2021 emergency room shift, despite clear neurological symptoms. He remains fully licensed despite arrest and charges.
The Medical Council has prepared disciplinary charges, citing his unsuitability for practice. The Health Ministry and agencies are developing laws to temporarily suspend prescribing rights for implicated doctors.
