Gujarat state medical council has taken note of botched cataract surgeries at Ramanand Eye Hospital and cancelled the license of an ophthalmologist for a year after investigating a case where 20 patients experienced blurred vision after cataract surgery. The case against the ophthalmologist was filed by Dr. Nayan Jani, who is the joint director (ophthalmology) at the health commissioner’s office, GMC, after receiving complaints from 20 patients from Mandal near Viramgam. Those patients experienced blurry vision after undergoing cataract surgery at Ramanand Eye Hospital in January 2024.
The ophthalmologist statement was taken by the state medical council based on the complaint. While investigating the matter, the committee found that the protocols for the operation theaters were not maintained and surgeries were carried out without qualified staff. While suspending the ophthalmologist for a year, the GMC mentioned, “From the documents and submissions made before the committee, it appears that proper care was not taken regarding pre-operative and post-operative measures to prevent infection during the surgeries in question. This casual-negligent approach on the part of responsibility is not pardonable as it resulted in dire consequences for the patients and can be considered actionable professional negligence.”