QSUT, under the hooves of the Health Oligarchy/ Vetting
In December 2022, the administration of the University Hospital Center "Mother Teresa" would submit several documents to the Supreme State Audit, which evidenced that the doors of the hospital building had been opened with force. The damage found by the audit was estimated at 218 million lek or 218 thousand euros after equipment of high financial value had been taken. The former director, dismissed from her post, Albana Fico, would keep the incident hidden and would not report it, but only after 4 months would she take the case to the State Police.

The episode that occurred at the QSUT is not just an act of vandalism, it is proof that the largest and most important Center in the country has been under constant pressure from the abuse of public funds and the clutches of the health oligarchy.

These are the conclusions of the Supreme State Audit, which have been deepened by "Vetting" research, revealing contracts in violation of the law, appointments of the management team in violation of the labor code, and the creation of the Hospital Board by the Ministry of Health in violation of the law.

According to Public Health expert Erion Dasho, since the Socialist Party came to power, there has been an alliance between the Ministry of Health and what he calls the "health oligarchy".

"It is a situation that shows irresponsibility and incompetence, which shows a lack of vision, a lack of setting priorities," Dr. Dasho told Vetting.

Construction of the new emergency and subcontractors
Footage taken from the QSUT at the new emergency room, when the fire that broke out put smoke in the affairs of securing the buildings at the QSUT, not only with the emergency room, but also for the other buildings. The fire that broke out on February 29, 2024 forced the Tirana Prosecutor's Office to launch investigations, which named two engineers as responsible, accusing them of abuse of office.

According to the investigation file, the cause of the fire destruction of the "New Emergency" building in the building was "the lack of a detailed project for the installation of the UPS emergency power source station, of technical safety conditions for relocation and installation, as well as the lack of implementation of technical conditions, safety standards and fire protection for the installation of the UPS emergency power source, battery rack and environmental conditions for their use."

The fire in the Emergency Room brought attention to the project, the way it was built, and which companies carried out the project.

The new emergency room and its extensions at the "Mother Teresa" University Hospital Center were built through a loan from the Council of Europe Bank and, according to the Ministry of Health, cost around 18 million euros.

But it took over four years to build the A2 building, where the Central Hospital and the Emergency Department are located, and the emergency department began operating in 2023. A few months later, after the fire in February 2024, the Emergency Department would close again, putting the entire set of equipment out of operation.

According to BIRN, the Emergency building was put into operation even though the QSUT had not fully taken over it from the construction company. Although it was still within the warranty period, the QSUT contracted a second private company to carry out work after the fire, at an additional cost of 27.7 million lek or 277 thousand euros.

The well-known QSUT Central Hospital offers a range of health services, but is best known for its multifunctional emergency room. This emergency room has the potential to receive an average of 300 patients per day, 50 of whom have cardiac emergencies.

On May 2, 2018, a contract was signed between FINSO Spa and the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Republic with a total value of 11,9 million euros, including estimated costs (contingencies) of 567,5 thousand euros.

This contract was transferred from FINSO Spa to its subsidiary, FINSO Albania shpk "Former INSO ALBANIA" owned by "FINCANTIERI INFRASTRUTTURE SOCIALI Spa" against the guarantee of the parent company on May 4, 2018.

FINSO is a company that has previously collaborated with the Ministry of Health on the construction of hospital buildings and operates in our country through its branch FINSO Albania.

The new Emergency project involved the construction of a building consisting of 6 floors above ground and 2 underground floors for a total area of ​​27 thousand m2.

According to photos posted on the company's website, construction began in December 2018 and a lamb was sacrificed at the foundation of the building. However, the construction took over 4 years and just a few months after it opened, the building was closed again due to a fire.

The most affected was the hemodynamics department, which was out of service. In addition to first aid, this department performs coronary angiography, stents, rings, and other important interventions, but after the fire, the two angiography devices could not be put into operation.

The emergency situation forced the QSUT to provide additional funds to restore the service. On May 12, 2024, the QSUT would announce the winner of the tender worth 27.7 million lek through a negotiated procedure, without prior contract publication. This procedure has been red-flagged by “Openprocurement.al” because it limits competition between companies and has indications of corruption and favoritism.

It is noteworthy that the tender was won by the company “Agi Kons” owned by Gentjan Sula, which had worked on the construction of the hospital as a subcontracted company by FINSO Albania for the A1 medical building and the A2 Central Hospital and Emergency building. In 2017, the Italian company began the intervention for the reconstruction of the general medical building known as the A1 building with the subcontractor “Agi Kons”. The investment cost 7.3 million euros and has also served for several years as an emergency reception.

Data obtained by Vetting reveals that Agi Kons has secured income from the A2 Central Hospital and Emergency project as a subcontractor, almost as much as the contract that the Italian company has won, worth 11.9 million euros. It is questionable how the subcontractor has carried out the works, collecting 1 billion and 351 million lekë or 85% of the total contract payment.

According to Dr. Ilir Alimehmeti, the vast majority of the problems facing the healthcare system are a result of underfunding of public hospitals and abuse of these few funds.

"We do not have a method to establish an assessment of hospital services and to understand what needs to be adapted, what needs to be improved and what needs to be invested in," Dr. Alimehmeti told Vetting.

Public health expert Erion Dasho also agrees, linking it to the high cost of private spending, which accounts for 60% of healthcare expenses for Albanian families.

From the information provided by "Vetting", the Italian company has stated that one of the risks of implementing the project is the fact that the work may remain incomplete due to a lack of funds.

But an invoice paid in late December 2024 has raised questions that the matter may have been a misunderstanding after the Ministry of Health failed to meet its obligations to the Italian company. According to data from the treasury “spending.al”, the state paid 454 thousand euros to the Italian company for an amicable settlement agreement.

(BalkanWeb)