Top Story / Doubts for predetermined winners in the tender, QSUT 2 years without scanner

Medical equipment was another important item at whose disposal 7.7 million Euros were put during the pandemic. But despite the health emergency, the public health sector spent for the period January-August 2021, only 22.8% of the annual plan for the purchase of medical equipment, or 1.74 million Euros.

The allocation of funds for the purchase of medical equipment was hampered by irregular tenders and complaints that accompanied the tendering process.

The representative case is the purchase of a scanner, which was scheduled to be realized in 2020, but the process has been protracted by the complaints of the companies participating in the competition.

The purchase of this device worth 1.17 million Euros without VAT, was entrusted in August 2020 to the company “Montal”. But the other two companies in the competition, Health & Light sh.pk and BNT Electronics, complained to the Public Procurement Commission in July 2020 about the modification of the technical criteria by the Ministry of Health, as they favored the winning company Montal.

The Procurement Commission decided to partially accept the complaints, and in September 2020 the competition was repeated. 8 companies participated in it, but again the winner was announced the company “Montal” worth 810 thousand Euros, which was 22% higher than the offer of the other competing company “Medfau” of 650 thousand Euros.

The companies participating in the tender “Medfau” and BNT Electronics complained again to the Public Procurement Commission. The Public Procurement Commission decided for the second time to cancel the tender, asking the Ministry of Health to offer an open tender with logical criteria.

This procedure delayed the installation of the scanner for almost two years, thus directly affecting truncated patient care.