Two persons lost their lives in Ahmedabad after undergoing angioplasty at Khyati Multispeciality Hospital under Prime Minister Jan Arogya Yojana on Monday night.
Family members have alleged that the procedure to implant stents was done without their knowledge. Nagarbhai Motibhai Senam, 59 and Maheshbhai Girdharbhai Barot, 45, died. They were residents of Borisana village in Kadi.
Angry family members, relatives and villagers ransacked the hospital located on the S G Highway on Tuesday. The Hospital is owned by Khyati Group, a real estate company.
Khyati Group was established in 1995 by Kartik Patel. Over the years, the group has diversified into various sectors, including real estate, education, healthcare, the pulp and paper industry and infrastructure.
Last year, Khyati Group expanded into healthcare by acquiring Khyati Multi-speciality Hospital (formerly Asian Bariatric Hospital).
Vibes of India asked for a comment from the group owned by Kartik Patel. However, there was no response. No official statement has been made public by the Khyati Group.
The villagers said that the hospital organised a free health checkup camp in Kadi, North Gujarat and 19 persons from the village were told that they will be treated under PMJAY free of cost. Other patients, who have undergone angioplasty, are in the ICU. Seven people underwent angioplasty.
Gujarat Health Minister Rushikesh Patel took to X and said he has ordered an immediate inquiry. The inquiry is being conducted by the State Anti-Fraud Unit of PMJAY. He further said that if there is any substance to the allegations or evidence of medical negligence, severe action will be taken against the hospital and the doctors involved. The minister also said that if negligence is found then a complaint will be lodged against the hospital and the doctors and the guilty will be arrested.
This is second time in two years that the Khyati Multispeciality Hospital has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. In 2022, Khyati Hospital organised a similar camp in Telav village, Sanand, where patients were admitted and stents placed without consent, leading to the deaths of three patients. Families then raised similar concerns and filed a complaint with the Vastrapur police. However, while talking to Vibes of India Vastrapur PI L N Chavda, claimed that no complaint was registered.
Gujarat Congress president Shaktisinh Gohil told Vibes of India that innocent people would not have lost lives had the state government taken strict action in 2022 and closed down the hospital.
Gujarat Congress spokesperson Dr Manish Doshi told Vibes of India that in 2023 CAG had pointed out several flaws in the implementation of the PMJAY. He further pointed out that the relatives of the patients do not get to know how much amount has been spent on them.
Vadgam MLA of Congress Jignesh Mevani demanded inquiry by honest officers to expose all incidents that have occurred in this hospital
Former deputy chief minister Nitin Patel, also from North Gujarat, rushed to the hospital and said that the government will take strict action if negligence is found.
The family members alleged that the stents were inserted to get money as the patients had Ayushman Bharat Health cards. They held that those who died were all okay and there was no need for them to undergo angioplasty.
No doctor was available for comments.
Dr. Ramesh Patel, north zone working president of Gujarat unit of the Aam Aadmi Party, demanded that the hospitals indulging in irregularities under the PMJAY should be closed down. He held that under the PMJAY there is no permission to hold such medical camps and yet a camp was organised.
Dr. Bhavin Solanki, head of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s Health Department, arrived at Khyati Hospital following the incident. He said that all medical procedures require the family’s consent and they would investigate whether the consent was taken or not.
Family members have refused to accept the dead bodies.