An inspection of the Supreme Audit Office in eight state hospitals has shown that large state hospitals purchased expensive medical equipment and rented it to private companies without making any significant profit.
Hospitals have also spent millions of crowns on equipment for which producers no longer produce spare parts, the Hospodárske Noviny (HN) economic daily reported.
However, Health Minister Richard Raši stated with regard to the findings that they were not serious and did not represent a violation of financial discipline. The Supreme Audit Office criticised the Health Ministry for failing to oversee purchases of medical equipment in 2006 and 2007. The office’s spokesperson, Lenka Nosálová, said that the ministry had not announced open competitions for the purchases, and thus had not used the opportunity to obtain quantity discounts or other benefits. HN
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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