Ahmedabad: AMC-run VS Hospital is under critical scrutiny after serious allegations surfaced regarding illegal clinical trials conducted on 500 patients over the past four years. The controversy intensified on Monday when Congress corporator Rajshree Kesari claimed that three patients had died as a result of these unapproved trials.
Kesari brought the issue to light during the general board meeting of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC). She stated that one of the deceased patient’s families had contacted her directly. According to Kesari, doctors at VS Hospital allowed pharmaceutical companies to conduct drug trials without following national guidelines or obtaining necessary approvals from the Drugs Control General of India.
AMC has already taken disciplinary action. An associate professor has been suspended, and termination notices have been issued to eight other doctors involved. The Municipal Commissioner confirmed that an internal investigation is underway. He stated that doctors had given permission for clinical trials without proper authorization and had accepted payments from pharmaceutical companies, which will now be recovered. The investigation is expected to be completed within 15 days, and departmental action will follow based on the findings.
On Monday, the matter took a political turn as Congress corporators staged a protest outside the AMC office. Some were dressed as doctors and carried placards demanding accountability and justice for the affected patients. They called for the names of the pharmaceutical companies and trial participants to be disclosed. However, their demand was rejected by Mayor Pratibha Jain, who said such disclosures could not be made during the zero-hour discussion of the general board meeting.
While the claim of three deaths remains unproven at this stage, the incident has raised serious concerns about ethical practices and oversight in public hospitals.