In 2020, the NITI Aayog recommended that state governments hand over the management of public hospitals to private players. However, the Gujarat government had already taken this step in 2009, when it privatized the Bhuj Civil Hospital, which was rebuilt after the 2001 earthquake at a cost of Rs 100 crore from the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund. The hospital was handed over to the Adani Foundation on a 99-year lease under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. The hospital was renamed the G.K. General Hospital and integrated with the Gujarat Adani Institute of Medical Sciences (GAIMS), which offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses in medicine.
Since then, the Gujarat government has privatized two more hospitals, the Dahod Civil Hospital, which was handed over to the Zydus Group in 2017, and the Vyara Civil Hospital, which was initially supposed to be handed over to the Torrent Group but was met with protests and has now been taken over by the UNM Foundation, a non-profit arm of the Torrent Group. The privatization of these hospitals has been mired in controversies, with allegations of exorbitant fees being charged to patients, poor treatment, and high infant and child mortality rates.
For instance, between January and May 2018, over 110 newborn babies died at the G.K. General Hospital, and in 2019, the hospital was accused of charging high fees for outpatient department (OPD) treatments, which were previously free. The hospital has also been criticized for the high fees charged for undergraduate and postgraduate courses, with the fee for a five-year MBBS program ranging from Rs 29-43 lakh for government and NRI quota seats, and Rs 80.5 lakh for management quota seats.
Similarly, the Zydus Medical College and Hospital charges Rs 6.85 lakh per year for 132 government quota PG seats, Rs 15 lakh a year for management quota seats, and Rs 19.5 lakh each for the 23 NRI seats. In contrast, the annual fee for a three-year PG program in government-run medical colleges in Gujarat is Rs 25,000, and for a five-year undergraduate program, Rs 15,000.
The companies involved in the privatization of these hospitals have also been accused of having close ties with the BJP government, with the Torrent Group purchasing electoral bonds worth Rs 184 crore between 2019 and 2024, and the Zydus Group giving bonds totaling Rs 29 crore to the BJP between 2022 and 2023. The privatization of these hospitals has raised concerns about the impact on public healthcare in Gujarat, particularly in rural areas where access to healthcare is already limited. The controversy surrounding the privatization of these hospitals highlights the need for greater transparency and accountability in the management of public healthcare facilities.