One in four Health contracts in a pandemic registered incidents and 4 euros were paid per FFP2 mask

MADRID, 26 May. (EUROPA PRESS) -

One in four contracts signed by the Health Management Institute (INGESA) of the Ministry of Health in the first months of the pandemic suffered incidents and in one case more than four euros were paid per FFP2 mask, according to a report that has just been approved by the Court of Auditors.

This is the third audit of emergency contracts by Covid 19 that has been carried out by the institution chaired by Enriqueta Chicano and which, on this occasion, has focused on the field of Socio-Labor Administration and Social Security in the year 2020. The forecast is to approve up to eight reports and the last one will already provide a global and comparative vision.

In this report, 97.68% of the files analyzed correspond to INGESA contracts, for an amount of 538 million. According to the court, all the contracts were directly or indirectly linked to the exceptional situation and the application of the emergency procedure was adjusted to the law. For the most part, the money came from the extraordinary credit of 1,000 million euros authorized for this purpose in the Ministry of Health on March 12, 2020, as soon as the pandemic was declared and with Salvador Illa at the head of the department.

In all the contracts there was sufficient credit, the communication of the start of actions was made (except in six of 49), the mandatory advertising and the execution of the period of one month from the emergency contracting agreement began.

Of course, the files examined did not leave documentary evidence in relation to the award criteria applied by the National Institute of Health Management, but that is not an irregular or illegal circumstance as they are emergency contracts.

However, INGESA sent information on these criteria during the audit by the Court of Auditors, indicating that the selection of the successful bidder companies was carried out after consulting the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products, the Secretaries of State of Finance and Commerce, ICEX, the Carlos III Health Institute and the General Directorate of the Common Portfolio of Services of the National Health and Pharmacy System.

And he also stressed that, only when the needs of the National Health System could not be met in this way, the Asian market was turned to following the guidelines formulated by the Ministry of Finance, ICEX and the Commercial Office of the Embassy of Spain in Beijing. .

The summary of the court is that in 22.44% of the audited contracts of the National Institute of Health Management, coinciding with the beginning of the health crisis derived from COVID 19, there were different incidents in the execution.

In four of the cases audited (8.16%) early resolution was decided for breach of contract attributable to the contractor, giving rise to the corresponding claims, which are in progress at the date of approval of this Report, for the recovery of the advanced funds, accrued interest and, if applicable, damages produced.

In two other files (4.08%) there were unforeseen changes in the contracts (supply of another model of masks but with the same price and characteristics in one case and supply of another type of equally effective test-Covid, but more expensive); and in five contracts (10.20%) there were delays in the delivery of supplies.

According to the supervisory institution, the incidents in the execution produced in these 11 contracts could be indicative of insufficient verification by INGESA of the production and supply capacity and, ultimately, of the technical solvency of some of the companies awarded the contract. the start of the pandemic. However, the acquisitions were made in an exceptional emergency situation and in the context of global shortages.