Kartik Patel, Ahmedabad: Following the deaths of two patients at Ahmedabad’s controversial Khyati Hospital, the Gujarat government has filed a police complaint against five individuals, including the hospital’s doctor and director. Within hours of the allegations, Dr Prashant Vazirani, accused of endangering the health of 19 patients, was arrested.
Another doctor implicated in the scandal, Sanjay Patoliya, also faces charges and is linked to hospitals in Rajkot and Surat, broadening the controversy across the state.
The hospital is accused of exploiting government health schemes by performing unnecessary angioplasty and stent procedures.
An investigation by expert doctors revealed that patients who underwent angiography and angioplasty had no underlying health issues and did not require the procedures.
Investigators allege that all accused parties conspired in a calculated criminal plot to exploit the government’s PMJAY health scheme for financial gain, intentionally misrepresenting patients’ medical conditions, falsifying consent forms, and performing unnecessary stent placements. Fake medical documents were allegedly created to claim illicit reimbursements from the government.
A police complaint has now been filed against the accused for causing harm through these procedures, which led to patient deaths. The investigative committee has also submitted its report, adding weight to the case.
“Upon examining the case of the deceased patient Maheshbhai Barot, it was found that he had no valid medical reason for undergoing angiography or angioplasty,” the inquiry committee report stated.
“The angiography report indicated an 80 per cent blockage in the Mead LCX artery, but the angiography CD showed no such blockage, only 30-40 per cent in the OM artery. Similarly, while the report claimed a 90 per cent blockage in the right artery, the video displayed only 30-40 per cent,” the report continued.
The report further noted, “The hospital exaggerated blockages in the report to claim benefits from the PMJAY scheme. In reality, there was only a 30-40 per cent blockage in both arteries – well below the threshold for angioplasty.”
“After performing an unwarranted angioplasty, the hospital also failed to provide necessary follow-up care.”
“The complaint has been filed based on serious allegations, including unnecessary examinations and treatments on patients from Balisana village, endangering lives, causing death, failing to secure proper consent, and gross negligence,” said Dr. Prakash Mehta, CDMO of Sola Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad.
Dr. Mehta added, “While the hospital holds approval from the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation under the Gujarat Nursing Home Act, it has not completed the necessary registration under the Clinical Establishment Act. We have issued a notice to the hospital asking why this registration has not been done.”
