VS Hospital trustees urge mayor to act against ex-superintendent Dr Manish Patel over clinical trial issue

Following the exposé of the clinical research scandal at Ahmedabad’s V S Hospital, trustees of the hospital including Rupa Chinai, Brijesh Chinai, Jay Sheth and Dr Nishith Shah have expressed outrage. The trustees have written to the board chairperson and Mayor Pratibha Jain to take action against the then medical superintendent Dr Manish Patel.

The trustees said that they had opposed the appointment of Dr Patel as superintendent at Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation Medical Education Trust (AMC MET).

However, the request was overlooked by the AMC. The trustees have demanded that a police complaint be filed against Dr Patel.

Suspended doctors’ statement

On the other hand, doctors including Dr Yatri Patel, psychiatrist Dr Dhaivat Shukla, MD Rajvi Patel, skin specialist Dr Kunal Sathwara, surgeon Dr Shalin Shah, diabetologist Dr Darshil Shah, and urologist Dr Kandarp Shah have recorded their statements after their suspension.

As per their statements, clinical trials and their financial transactions were not checked by the principal investigator.

“Usually the trials are permitted only after an approval from the Ethics Committee, Clinical Trials Registry - India (CTRI), and  Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI),” said the suspended doctors in their statements. 

“Due to false accusations, our careers will be seriously affected. Human rights have been violated in the principles of justice. We have no authority to decide administrative work and policy matters. The superintendent and the head of the clinical trial were informed about the financial transactions,” the statement added.

Inquiry against the suspended doctors

How many people were there in the investigation committee?

What investigations were carried out?

On what basis did the committee suspend you?

The suspended doctors revealed that Dr Devang Rana signed the two clinical trial agreements done by them.

According to the guidelines set by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), Ethics Committees are authorised to approve clinical trials within a 50 km radius of the city. Clinical research trials have been actively conducted at V S Hospital since 2021.

However, despite being located just 500 metres away from V S Hospital, SVP Hospital has not been involved in any clinical trials. NHL Medical College serves as the regulatory authority overseeing all municipal hospitals, including SVP Hospital. Notably, SVP Hospital is fully equipped with the necessary infrastructure and arrangements to conduct clinical research trials.

However, SVP Hospital has consistently been overlooked, even though basic assessments indicate its clear suitability for such activities.

Also read:

V S Hospital case: Suspended doctor claims theft of clinical trial documents from office