An alternative therapy clinic in Sydney’s north-west has been forced to close its doors as part of the state healthcare watchdog’s crackdown on a controversial medical procedure banned by regulators in the United States.
The NSW Health Care Complaints Commission issued an interim prohibition order against the Ozone Clinic in Castle Hill while it investigates a complaint made about it by a member of the public.
Some of the services advertised on the Ozone Clinic website, which has since been deleted but is available through an internet archive. Credit: WayBack Machine
A commission spokesperson said the order was necessary “to protect public health and safety” but said they could not comment on the specifics of the complaint during the investigation.
“This action follows the execution of a search warrant on July 25, 2024 as part of an ongoing investigation into ozone therapy practices, specifically intravenous and skin puncture procedures,” the spokesperson said. “Public safety is paramount when seeking alternative health treatments.”
The commission said no person working for the Ozone Clinic should deliver medication intravenously or through skin puncture to any member of the public while the ban was in place.
An Ozone Clinic spokeswoman said it was “regretful” that the HCCC had levelled allegations against the clinic, and said she stood by the safety of ozone therapy.
“The Ozone Clinic has operated in the community with a strong commitment to improving the lives of those who come through our doors,” she said. “We are hopeful that the process that ensues will be of educational value for the HCCC and anyone interested in this type of therapy.”
Ozone therapy involves introducing ozone, a form of oxygen, into the patient’s body. When administered intravenously, the gas is usually dissolved into blood taken from the patient and then delivered back into the body.
The clinic’s website, since deleted but accessible through internet archives, claims to have treated more than 7000 patients. It promotes ozone as a natural detoxifier, antiviral, antibiotic, antifungal and antiparasitic which “resets the mitochondria” and is a “natural immune system booster”.
This is despite the US Food and Drug Administration noting that, in order to be effective as a germ-killer, ozone “must be present in a concentration far greater than that which can be safely tolerated by man and animals”.
The agency updated its guidance in 2019 to outlaw the use of ozone gas to treat “any medical condition for which there is no proof of safety and effectiveness”.
Only two medical devices containing or producing ozone are approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration for legal sale in Australia.
One is a commercial-grade cleaning product and the other is an ozone-generating device used in dentistry as a disinfectant and treatment for tooth decay.
Another Sydney ozone practitioner, Linh Tuan Phan, was stung with an interim order last month preventing him from providing any health services, “including ozone therapy or any procedures involving skin penetration”, until the end of August.
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