Sahlgrenska Hospital in Gothenburg has made purchases for over eleven million SEK, without having a contract or procurement.
The hospital manager Barbro Fridén is a member of the board at the selling company, reports the Swedish newspaper GT. Her involvement in the board of the biotech group Vitrolife has been approved personally by the director of Västra Götaland region, Ann-Sofi Lodin.
“It is serious. We have made a mistake,” says Conny Corneliusson, purchase strategist at Sahlgrenska Hospital.
Despite the fact that Vitrolife’s fully owned subsidiary Vitrolife Sweden AB has invoice Sahlgrenska for purchases over 11 million SEK no public procurement has been made and the hospital can not find any written agreements with the company when GT requested it. The purchases have been approved by unit managers of different departments.
Before Fridén started her position as hospital manager in 2012 she had to request for an exception from the rule saying that mangers on top positions should not have assignments on the side. This exception was approved by Lodin. According to her annual report Fridén has attended ten meetings and obtained a commission of 150 000 SEK.
“We have very formal routines for procurements and on all large deals and purchases we have framework agreements. I do not know why we do not have an agreement in this case, Barbro did not know this either,” says Lodin to GT.
Fridén also says she did not know that there was not an agreement and that the hospital must correct this if it is wrong.
Source: GT
Photo: Marie Ullnert
