Gandhinagar: In the aftermath of angioplasty deaths at Ahmedabad’s Khyati Multispecialty Hospital, the state govt has made it mandatory for hospitals empaneled under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) to seek permission from the health department to conduct medical camps. An officer from the department will also be required to remain present in such camps.
Investigations undertaken following the angioplasty deaths revealed that a majority of the 19 patients, who were admitted to Khyati Hospital after a medical camp in Borisana, did not require the procedure at all.
“The state govt has taken steps to ensure that such incidents do not take place again. The PMJAY-empanelled hospitals will be required to seek prior permission of the DHO (district health officer) before holding any medical camp. An officer from the health department must remain present at such camps to verify the diagnosis,” state health minister Rushikesh Patel told the assembly on Monday in response to questions raised by the MLAs during question hour. Patel said that in a majority of the 19 cases, Khyati Hospital had not taken consent from the patients’ family members for the procedure. Commenting on the steps taken by the state govt in the case, he said a payment of Rs 3.17 crore to the hospital was stopped and its PM-JAY empanelment revoked.
Asserting that people’s faith in the PMJAY scheme remains unshaken, Patel said that even before the Khyati Hospital case came to the fore, action was taken against 52 hospitals and three doctors for irregularities.
In reply to a question from Congress MLA Tushar Chaudhary, the health minister said that there hasn’t been any reduction in the number of angioplasties after the Khyati Hospital case came to light.