What is the effect of section 597.5 of the California Medical malpractice code on a motion for a separate trial?

The language of section 597.5 is mandatory. In contrast to the court's discretionary powers to regulate the order of proof (Evid. Code, 320) and to try issues of bar or abatement in cases coming within section 597 before proceeding to the merits, section 597.5 allows no alternative to the ordering of a separate trial when a proper motion is made. (County of Kern v. Superior Court (1978) 82 Cal.App.3d 396, 399-400, 147 Cal.Rptr. 248.) Section 597.5 is a mandatory extension of section 597, to be applied in every medical malpractice case in which the issue is properly presented. (Ibid.)