[ad_1]
“It can be said without a doubt that erroneous accounts have been made in the two cantonal hospitals KSA and KSB.” This is the conclusion of the Business Review Commission of the Grand Council (GPK), which had investigated the matter of the chief physician for two years. Research by AZ had shown in 2018 that the chief orthopedic surgeon in Baden and the chief angiologist in Aarau repeatedly billed for services that they had not performed at all. Specifically, it was the fact that the chief doctors were not present during the operations, but still charged fees.
The two fallible doctors had to make reimbursements to the hospitals, in Baden it was 45,000 francs, in Aarau 5,800 francs. Since AZ released these figures, the question has repeatedly arisen as to why the numbers were so low, even though the doctors had worked at the two hospitals for years. Even the GPK cannot clarify this, as Grossrat’s senior vice president and commissioner Daniel Aebi said at a press conference. Therefore, the financial size, the period affected and the people involved are still open.
The two hospitals had the incidents investigated by audit firms, but according to the GPK, they restricted the examinations to such an extent that many open questions remain. Only accounts for limited periods of time were verified. The hospitals had “previously cleared certain cases to get below a ‘systematic threshold’.” Commission chair Marco Hardmeier said: “It’s like ignoring my parking lot and speed buses from before 2014 and then saying I’m not a systematic traffic offender.”
The corporate audit committee confirms incorrect statements to the hospitals of the canton of Aargau
The investigation report of the responsible business audit committee in relation to the matter of the chief doctor in the two hospitals of the canton of Aargau is available.
© TeleM1
The commission is irritated by the behavior of the hospitals
Also, according to Aebi, there were multiple versions of some review reports. After all, important people weren’t even questioned during the tests on behalf of the hospitals. AZ Knows: This applies to informants who had alerted KSA management of incorrect invoices from the angiologist.
According to Aebi, the two canton hospitals did not cooperate much with the GPK either. The commission is irritated that hospitals tried to avoid the special audits through financial control with a legal opinion. In addition, a hospital tried to prevent an employee that GPK had invited to interview from this conversation. According to the “NZZ”, this is the risk manager of the KSA.
In general, hospital management showed little understanding of the investigation, Aebi said. This caused a delay of five months and a loss of confidence in the cooperation. Aebi criticized the fact that documents such as shift lists or attendance controls in the operating room, which would allow subsequent verification, are not fully available. He pointed out that there could be violations of the health law. This requires that patients be able to understand for ten years “which doctor performed the procedure in a real and objective way.”
The governing council did not release files until seven months after it was asked to do so.
The GPK not only criticizes the two cantonal hospitals, but also the governing council. As a representative of the canton in which the KSA and KSB belong, he did not exercise sufficient supervision. The government had indications of irregularities in the accounts, but awareness and risk management were inadequate.
In addition, the commission sees a contradictory approach by the governing council: “On the one hand, it has shown little interest in fully clarifying the facts. On the other hand, he filed a criminal complaint at that time. “The GPK is irritated that the government took seven months to provide the requested files for the investigation.
Jean-Pierre Gallati’s role change is special in this regard: the current health director was still Supreme Vice President Grand Counsel in the summer of 2018 and started the chief physician affair with a move. The then incumbent councilor for the government, Franziska Roth, has resigned.
The GPK now recommends that the governing council exercise its oversight role in cantonal hospitals in a comprehensive manner. The conversion of hospitals into public limited companies does not exempt the governing council from this obligation. Upon request, government spokesman Peter Buri said the governing council had taken note of GPK’s report released yesterday on incorrect bills from chief doctors. Regarding content, Buri does not comment on the commission’s criticisms or the recommendations it makes. It simply states: “The governing council will review the report and the expectations and recommendations contained therein, advise on any need for action resulting from it, and then inform the public of its findings and decisions.”
