UC Irvine Medical Center - Controversies

Controversies

In 2003, UCI hired Jagat Narula and Mani Vannan as the chief and division chief of cardiology. Neither was board certified in internal medicine nor cardiology, and neither had a California medical license. In 2003, Dr. Glenn Provost presented a 13-signature petition alleging anesthesia safety problems. He stated that soon after complaining about a supervisor forcing him "to take patients to the operating room without consent, chart, or preoperative check-in by the operating room nurse ... in an attempt to cut costs," he was fired and allegedly blackballed. However, persons close to the case feel that there may be a vendetta against the current department chair by Dr. Provost

In 2005, it came to light that 32 patients had died while waiting for liver transplants at UCI. The livers were available, but, for two years, UCI did not have a full-time surgeon to implant them, in contravention of federal regulations. UCI's surgeon was actually on staff at UC San Diego, 70 miles away. A patient at UCI, Elodie Irvine, filed a lawsuit which brought scrutiny upon the hospital. Ms. Irvine, who had liver and kidney disease, had 95 organs offered for transplant by the United Network for Organ Sharing during her stay at UCI. The hospital allegedly told the patient that they were waiting for organs, when in fact they rejected every organ offered to them. Only one UCI physician advised her to look elsewhere for a transplant.