Nutrition in hospitals. NIK auditors checked several institutions
NIK auditors from the Opole branch analyzed the nutrition offered in four hospitals in the region. A plus is that in all institutions dietitians participated in composing meals. The assessment of documentation was slightly worse.
Photos of hospital food often end up on the Internet. Small portions, no vegetables, little variety on the plate. Hospitals explain that they have very little money to feed patients (basic daily rate for one patient is approximately PLN 20) and they are not able to conjure up a variety of colorful meals, but despite this, in some institutions the menu has clearly improved in recent years.
The Supreme Audit Office analyzed the situation in four hospitals in the Opole Voivodeship. She did not assess the taste and aesthetics of the dishes, but formal issues and whether a dietitian was involved in creating the menu. It turned out that this last condition was met in all audited hospitals. The specialist participated in the preparation of order specifications, as well as during their implementation – in the verification of daily menus and menus planned for the following days. The dietitian also assessed the delivered meals in terms of proper temperature, quality and quantity.
Supreme Audit Office. The irregularities concerned tenders
The irregularities identified mainly concerned tender procedures. This concerns violations of applicable provisions and internal regulations, including: when preparing a plan of public procurement procedures, when estimating the value and description of the subject of the contract and establishing criteria for evaluating offers. Moreover, there was no reliable verification of the declarations and documents submitted by contractors during the tenders.
Although the inspected units used a simplified procedure for awarding contracts for social services, irregularities were found in each of them, involving violations of applicable provisions and internal regulations. The provisions on public procurement were incorrectly applied both during the preparation and conduct of the public procurement procedure. Violations of legal regulations were found when preparing the plan of procurement procedures, estimating its value, describing the subject of the contract and establishing the criteria for evaluating offers.
