Despite the tender for UAH 24 million, the hospital management decided to take a “tribute” from doctors for the renovation of the medical facility
Possible misuse of budget funds intended for the reconstruction of a medical institution: the Anti-Corruption Commission in the Chernivtsi region identified possible violations in the Putylya City Hospital. According to local doctors, money for repairs and furniture was then collected by issuing “fake” bonuses to doctors. And this despite the fact that a preliminary tender was held for more than 24 million hryvnia.
In a new investigation for journalist Igor Dotsenko, he exposed a probable scheme of the hospital management, which groundlessly deprived its employees of bonuses.
Thus, as part of a raid in Bukovina, journalists visited Putyla, where they talked with employees of the local hospital. The film crew learned that in the summer of 2023, the Putilsk Central District Hospital held a tender for the reconstruction of the medical facility in the amount of more than 24 million UAH, however, according to the journalist, only doctors’ bonus money was used for the renovation.
New furniture, modern equipment, bright corridors - and everything seemed to be as it should have been, because a tender was held and the winner was chosen. However, as the public organization “Anti-Corruption Commission of the Chernivtsi Region” learned, this transformation was not without schemes.
“They gave the doctors a bonus for Doctor’s Day, but they took the same bonus and took it away. They told the medical staff that this bonus would be used to purchase chairs and new furniture. Their people had to give this prize. They received it, signed it and handed it over. Because, they say, you need to buy new furniture. Although in the estimate, if they look at it, there is a colossal amount of money allocated for bonuses, for chairs, for furniture, for cabinets, and so on,” said Petr Porokh, a representative of the anti-corruption commission.
The journalists managed to obtain a “certificate” that indicated the names and amounts of bonuses for workers who were allegedly taken by management to equip the hospital.
“Why they did this is an open question. Moreover, if a tender was held for more than 24 million!” – notes Igor Dotsenko.
The film crew went to a medical facility to talk with workers and find out the whole truth. They told reporters that they were really given bonuses only to make repairs in a medical institution.
Does this scheme violate the laws of Ukraine?
Lawyer Bogdana Sych explained that such actions on the part of management are illegal, because hospital employees must use the bonus they receive at their own discretion and not give it back for the sake of the well-being of the institution.
“A medical worker has the right to independently manage the bonus, and for example, accruing a bonus and then so-called confiscation of it for the needs of a medical institution is illegal and unacceptable,” the lawyer noted.
Investigators also managed to find out that the management of the Putila Central District Hospital could have prohibited employees from talking about a possible scheme with bonus payments. After all, the majority of people interviewed by journalists flatly refused to comment on the situation.
When asked about bonuses, one of the workers answered: “I mean, what bonuses? Well, maybe they gave it to someone, and maybe they didn’t give it to someone. I don't know…". However, for some reason this list contains the same last name and first name as that of this ophthalmologist. This suggests that employees may indeed be hiding something.
The film crew also managed to meet a person who, according to workers, collected bonuses from doctors to purchase furniture. However, she also refused to comment on anything. The only answer was:
“I’ve been here at work since ’79, and the corridors were so scary that it was simply TERRIBLE, now I’m glad that I’m working in retirement in such conditions.”
And it’s hard to disagree with this, but the fact that the hospital held a tender does not disappear from the overall picture. Where could these 24 million hryvnia go if the management of the medical institution decided to carry out reconstruction at the expense of bonuses for doctors?
Informally, doctors told reporters that they allegedly asked management why they should take away bonuses if the above-mentioned tender was held. Then they were informed that there seemed to be not enough money from the tender. At the same time, the chief accountant noted something completely different.
“To date, we have only used part of the funds. Because work is still being carried out."
As Ivanka Kapustyanskaya, a representative of the Chernivtsi regional division of the Stop Corruption NGO, noted, the decision of the management of the medical institution raises doubts:
“The only question is: why didn’t they announce another tender if they didn’t have enough of those 24 million? Where did it all go? Well, 24 million UAH cannot be spent just on restoration. Because the information in the tender is clearly indicated that everything was covered in that amount.”
Indeed, many of the facts from this story look quite dubious, but journalists noticed another interesting thing. So, there is not a single inventory number on the furniture, which is a violation.
“After purchasing goods for medical institutions, the goods must be registered with the medical institution and each is assigned an inventory number (for durable objects) or a nomenclature number (for low-value non-current tangible assets). If violations are detected during inventory in medical institutions, responsibility is assigned to the financially responsible person,” noted lawyer Bogdana Sych.
Based on all the above facts, the film crew wanted to meet with the management of the medical institution, but on the day of filming they were not there. The next day, Igor Dotsenko called the medical director of the institution, Elena Eduardovna Karpenko, who, in turn, denied any abuse.
“Nobody intimidated anyone... They just have different positions in life... that’s all... Why then, if this is not true... why are doctors telling for this? Well, these are character traits... I won’t tell you anything more.”
At the same time, she noted that the money from the tender was allocated only for restoration - at the same time, the contract for the purchase of work also clearly indicated a list of furniture.
The interesting thing about this case is that immediately after our visit, according to our data, the hospital organized something like a meeting where all the details were discussed. Investigators obtained a recording of their conversation.
“I want to say that that day they came and simply took me by surprise and immediately from the door they said that you were given bonuses and there are lists. I say “yes it happened.” I couldn’t lie at that moment because I was shocked... If I had known that they would happen, I could somehow prepare myself and say “nope, that didn’t happen,” the recording says.
So the phrase “I couldn’t lie” – isn’t this confirmation that the so-called “cashback” of doctors’ bonuses actually took place at the medical institution? Moreover, in a conversation with journalists, the accountant herself confirmed the fact of issuing bonuses and “collecting” them for repairs.
Let us note that representatives of the “Anti-Corruption Commission of the Chernivtsi Region” have already informed law enforcement agencies about the embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds during the procurement of goods and works, upon which criminal proceedings have already been opened.
The situation in the Putyla city hospital remains under the control of the unit of the NGO “Stop Corruption” in Chernivtsi. In turn, StopKor also keeps its finger on the pulse of the development of these events - we will monitor how the case progresses.
