After reviewing its operations in 2014 and 2015, the Court of Audit found that the hospital violated public procurement procedures in purchasing almost 70 million euros worth of medical devices. The Ljubljana University Medical Centre has announced an internal review of the situation, while the Court of Audit referred the matter to the police.

In 2014 and 2015, 54% of the hospital’s purchases violated public procurement procedures. The hospital is still reviewing the audit report, but it said that it will endeavour to streamline its purchasing procedures. Court of Audit President Tomaž Vesel applauded the hospital’s efforts but said he feared that nothing would change. After all, the Court of Audit had already found similar violations ten years ago. Those responsible could now face fines.

The hospital overpaid its suppliers by at least 10 thousand euros. The Ljubljana University Medical Centre is not the only hospital in Slovenia to be plagued by an inefficient purchasing system. Vesel said that the situation was worrying and that more hospitals would be audited in the future.