Ministry of Healthcare did not control the teaching hospitals development grants-in-aid
Press release
March 8, 2007
“Ministry of Healthcare poorly performed their duties when managing the program”, reads the conclusion of the audit report made by the Supreme audit Office (SAO). The purpose of the audit was to look in granting, drawing, and using the State Budget funds earmarked for the program of material and technical basis of teaching hospitals development. Auditors focused on the period from January 2003 till June 2006, including associated realia from the following period.
The audited bodies were Ministry of Healthcare (MH), St. Ann’s hospital in Brno, teaching hospitals of Brno, Hradec Králové, Olomouc, Plzeň, and Prague – Královské Vinohrady, the Teaching Hospital and Health Centre in Ostrava, the Teaching Hospital and Health Centre “Bulovka”, Prague, the Thomayer’s Teaching Hospital in Prague, and the General Teaching Hospital in Prague.
From 2003 to 2005, implementation of the program cost more than CZK 1,1 billion. The audit targeted 81 investment ventures with the total amount over CZK 979 million, making 86 % of all the money granted.
“For example, more than 50 % of provided finances were spent as late as the last month of the relevant year, which made difficult use for the audited teaching hospitals and consequently led to transferring those finances to a reserve fund. MH submitted only 2,67 % of the granted finances from 2003 – 2005 period to the audit. In addition, this audit was only perfunctory as no serious financial disposing break was found. The SAO audit reports have repeatedly warned of the fact having audited investments of the Ministry of Health,“ said František Dohnal, president of SAO.
Together with counteracting some obligatory regulations, the teaching hospitals broke budgetary discipline when disposing finance, and the total irregularity amounts more than CZK 9 million. “During the audit, an offend against the public order law was found. It was caused by poor eligibility evidence of the contractor or vague publishing the information of a competition of tenders”, said president Dohnal.
The auditing operation was included in the Annual Audit Plan of SAO for the year 2006 under No. 06/25. Jan Holeček, Member of the SAO, controlled the auditing operation and drew up the audit report.
Radka Burketová
Press Speaker
Supreme Audit Office