Krajci: Missteps by Private Hospitals Put Millions of Euros into Jeopardy (2)

Bratislava, 23 August (TASR) – MP and former health minister (2020-21) Marek Krajci ('Slovakia'-For the People-KU) has warned that Slovakia may lose further millions of euros from the Recovery and Resilience Plan due to alleged missteps by private hospitals, whereas both the Agel group and the Penta Hospitals network have rejected the claims. Krajci referred to findings by the Public Procurement Authority (UVO). „Unfortunately, we have learned that the Slovak Republic may lose additional millions of euros from the Recovery Plan — this time with respect to the company Agel. Agel Hospital in Levice violated the Public Procurement Act by artificially splitting a single contract into two, thereby lowering the estimated value and bypassing the obligation to conduct an above-threshold procurement,” Krajci said. According to him, UVO pointed out that the hospital deliberately divided the contract into two smaller parts and contacted only three pre-selected companies. Krajci stated that the Health Ministry is obliged by law to report the identified violation to the National Implementation and Coordination Authority, which must then inform the European Commission and the European Anti-Fraud Office. „The upshot will be that European funds cannot be used this way. The Health Ministry will not be able to have these funds reimbursed by the European Commission from the Recovery Plan, meaning that millions of euros will be forfeited,” Krajci added. A similar scenario could occur, according to Krajci, with the hospital project in Spisska Nova Ves, which is being implemented by Penta. „The Health Ministry under former minister Zuzana Dolinkova (2023-24) allowed the construction to be completed by 31 December 2028, contrary to the deadlines required by the European Commission. These cases demonstrate that private entities are likely to cause the forfeiture of Recovery Plan funds, and Slovakia will not be able to draw the money as originally requested for these hospital projects,” Krajci said. In response, Agel stated that the MP's claims are taken out of context and may create a misleading impression. According to the company, audit processes are still ongoing and not yet concluded. „We believe that Agel Hospital in Levice acted in line with the principle of cost-effectiveness and followed legal requirements with the aim of using all available resources for the modernisation of the healthcare facility,” said Tomas Luckai, the executive director at Agel responsible for overseeing project implementation under the Recovery Plan. Agel explained that during the original hospital reconstruction in Levice, cost savings were achieved, enabling the expansion of the modernisation scope. „These additional funds could only be used after obtaining approval from the relevant authorities, and under the condition that all work will be completed by the end of June 2026, a binding milestone of the Recovery Plan. Thanks to the efficient use of Recovery and Resilience Plan savings, we achieved a significantly more extensive modernisation of the facility. Far from losing the funds, we used them effectively for even broader hospital modernisation,” the company clarified. Penta Hospitals, in reaction to Krajci’s statements, rejected what it described as public smear campaign and the deliberate dragging of its business group into political games. „There are currently no investigations or audits under way against the completion and reconstruction project of the hospital in Spisska Nova Ves. The project is progressing exactly according to the set timeline. Our company also has a statement from the Public Procurement Office confirming that the procurement process was conducted in accordance with the law and principles of transparent competition, with no deficiencies identified during the process. We are confident that the office is applying standard verification procedures to all projects under this call as per the rules of the Recovery and Resilience Plan,” said Tomas Kral, the spokesperson for Penta Hospitals, in a statement to TASR. mf