2 PMJAY Beneficiaries Death Case: Cardiologist arrested after inquiry finds angioplasty was unnecessary

Ahmedabad: One of the two doctors of Khyati Hospital in Bodakdev who were booked for allegedly performing an angioplasty procedure on two PMJAY beneficiaries which led to their death without taking their family's consent has been arrested by the city police recently. 

While the cardiologist was apprehended within hours after registering a case, the other doctor facing similar charges is reported to be linked to hospitals in Rajkot and Surat making this a wider controversy.

The arrested doctor is one of five persons accused in three FIRs filed in the case where the owners and doctor of Khyati Multispeciality Hospital were booked for culpable homicide, attempted culpable homicide, forgery, cheating, and criminal conspiracy for allegedly performing unnecessary angioplasty surgeries on two patients who later died due to alleged negligence in post-operative care.

Also read- 2 Patients die, 5 on ventilator after angioplasty under PM-JAY at Ahmedabad Hospital; 2 doctors served notices

The inquiry committee constituted by the state government in their preliminary probe found that the deceased did not require the heart procedure. “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," revealed the report, TNIE reports. 

Angioplasty is a procedure that widens blocked or narrowed coronary arteries to improve blood flow to the heart. A preliminary probe by the state government has revealed that angioplasty was performed on these seven persons even though there was no need for the procedure, said Principal Secretary (Health and Family Welfare Department) Dhananjay Dwivedi. 

"Our inquiry panel learnt that there was no need for angioplasty. Yet, the hospital went ahead with the procedure. Moreover, these patients were not given proper post-operative treatment. As a result, two of them died at around 10 pm on Monday. We consider this as a very serious matter," Dwivedi told reporters in Gandhinagar as quoted by PTI. 

As per the Indian Express news report, the government's preliminary investigation report revealed that while the hospital documentation stated there was an 80% blockage in Barot's mid-left circumflex artery, the angiography CD showed no blockage at all. Furthermore, despite the hospital's claim of a 90% blockage in Barot's mid-right circumflex artery, the angiography revealed only a blockage of 30-40%.

In the case of the other deceased individual, Senma, FIR mentioned that although hospital records indicated a 90% blockage in the proximal and mid segments of the left anterior descending (LAD) artery, the angiography CD showed an 80% blockage in the midsection and a 50% blockage in the proximal section. Additionally, contrary to the hospital's assertion of a 90% blockage in the right coronary artery, the angiography CD indicated that there was no blockage present.

Medical Dialogues team had recently reported that a massive controversy erupted at Khyati Hospital in Bodakdev after two patients, who attended a free medical camp organized by the hospital under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) passed away due to postoperative complications following angioplasty procedures on Monday. In response, Gujarat Health Minister Rushikesh Patel has ordered an inquiry into the incident.

This incident has caused widespread outrage as an angioplasty was performed at the hospital on 12 of the 19 patients and two of them died while 5 others were kept on ventilation. The two deceased individuals have been identified as 59-year-old Nagar Senma and 45-year-old Mahesh Barot.

These 19 people were brought to Khyati Hospital by ambulance for treatment after they attended the free health checkup camp in Borisna village of Kadi taluka on November 10. Around 80 to 90 people were examined at the camp.

While the private hospital has been "debarred" under PMJAY following the incident, doctors who had performed the angioplasty, as well as angiography of all the patients, will not be allowed to offer their services at any other medical facility under the scheme, Dwivedi noted. "We will also investigate all the past cardiology-related cases handled by the hospital under PMJAY. Moreover, action will be taken against other hospitals run by the owners of this hospital (Khyati Multispeciality)," said Dwivedi.

The relatives of the two patients alleged the hospital kept everyone in the dark and conducted the procedure in haste to raise medical bills under the government scheme. The Ayushman Bharat-PMJAY provides free health insurance of up to Rs 5 lakh per year to needy people.

The preliminary probe by authorities indicated the hospital had arranged a free medical check-up camp at Borisana village under Kadi taluka of Mehsana district on Sunday. After the camp, the hospital brought 19 villagers to its facility in Ahmedabad on Monday, saying they would have to undergo angiography, Patel said. After angiography, a process that involves the use of X-ray imaging to examine blood vessels and see if they are narrowed or blocked, doctors performed angioplasty on seven of them and also put stents.

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