Apollo Hospital gets notice over fake cardiologist linked to multiple deaths

Raipur: The Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) of Bilaspur has issued a notice to Apollo Hospital over serious allegations against a recently arrested con man who posed as a UK-based cardiologist and performed surgery on the former speaker of the state assembly, who later died at the hospital in 2006. The impostor, who went by the name 'Dr John Camm', is also accused of operating on eight other patients, all of whom reportedly died following the procedures.

The accused, whose real name is believed to be Narendra Vikramaditya Yadav, is said to have used the identity of a real doctor from the UK named 'Dr John Camm'. He pretended to be a skilled and experienced heart specialist with a medical degree from the UK and used this fake identity to treat patients in India. 

Shukla, then a Congress MLA from Kota assembly constituency, died on August 20, 2006, at Apollo Hospital here. He had served as the first speaker of the Chhattisgarh legislative assembly from 2000 to 2003.

Also read- Fake Doctor Case: Missionary Hospital's cath lab sealed

Since the fake doctor operated on Shukla at Apollo Hospital, it remains unclear whether he was officially employed without proper verification of his educational qualifications or if the hospital allowed him to work without conducting any background checks at all.

To determine the extent of the doctor’s crimes and the hospital’s possible involvement, the Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) of Bilaspur has issued a notice to Apollo Hospital. The notice seeks detailed information about Yadav’s connection with the hospital. The hospital has been directed to submit its report within three days.

The administration has asked Apollo Hospital to provide information on how long Yadav was employed there, the position he held, and the nature of his duties, particularly whether he worked as a cardiologist and conducted heart surgeries. They have also demanded records of the number of patients he treated, the number of operations he performed, how many of those were successful, and how many resulted in post-operative fatalities.

Authorities are also trying to determine whether Yadav was registered with the Chhattisgarh Medical Council at the time, and what educational qualifications and expertise he had submitted for the job.

Further, the hospital has been instructed to submit photocopies of his appointment letter and to clarify if there were any complaints or concerns raised regarding his credentials or skills during his tenure before the incident. If such concerns were raised, the administration asked what action, if any, had been taken at the time.

Apart from working at the Apollo Hospital, the accused also worked at a missionary hospital in Madhya Pradesh. Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that the cath lab at Missionary Hospital in Damoh, Madhya Pradesh, where a fake doctor allegedly performed heart surgeries, resulting in at least seven deaths, was sealed. 

The lab was sealed after Madhya Pradesh police arrested Narendra Vikramaditya Yadav, who allegedly posed as a British Doctor, N John Camm and performed multiple heart surgeries in Damoh's mission hospital, allegedly killing at least 7 people. Yadav has been accused of forging documents.

Before this, the Madhya Pradesh police arrested him on Monday. Police registered the First Information Report (FIR) on Sunday midnight against the accused, based on a complaint by Damoh district's Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) MK Jain, reports PTI. 

In his complaint, CMHO Jain alleged Dr Camm had committed fraud by performing angiography and angioplasty on patients at the Mission Hospital without being registered with the Madhya Pradesh Medical Council.

The registration is not displayed on the doctor's medical documents, which appears to be suspicious prima facie. No doctor can provide services in Madhya Pradesh without registration with the MP Medical Council, the FIR stated.

The complaint alleged that between January and February, many patients died due to treatment by an ineligible and unauthorised doctor in the cardiology department of the hospital.

Camm was booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 315 (4) (dishonest misappropriation), 338 (forgery), 336 (3) (creating or altering documents or electronic records with fraudulent intent), 340 (2) (forged documents and electronic records) and 3 (5) (joint criminal liability when a criminal act is committed by several persons in furtherance of a common intention).

Investigating the death of the former speaker of the state Assembly, the CMHO of Bilaspur issued a notice to the private hospital seeking details. 

Hospital PRO Devesh Gopal told TOI that "We have received CMHO's notice and will respond in due course. I have to check exact date of receipt."

"He has accepted that most of his certificates are fake. We are trying to verify his MBBS degree," Damoh SP Shrut Kirti Somavanshi had told TOI last Tuesday.

Also read- Fake Cardiologist held, linked to Ex-Chhattisgarh Speaker's death