Minnis claims PHA report reflects '10 mil. clerical errors'

Wed, Oct 15th 2014, 10:41 AM

Free National Movement (FNM) Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis said yesterday that an auditor's finding that $10 million in pharmaceuticals could not be accounted for at the Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) last year is not an issue as it reflects "clerical errors".
The forensic accounting report reveals that there was a $10 million difference in inventory between the physical count and the theoretical inventory balances at the Princess Margaret Hospital Pharmacy, and no satisfactory explanation was provided.
Minnis, who said he read the report, claimed that there were two clerical errors that any accountant could have caught.
"There was a clerical error in that report where one liter of intravenous fluid, which costs no less than $20, was recorded as $5.4 million," said Minnis, who is a former minister of health.
"There was another clerical error where another liter of fluid was recorded at $3.6 million. That was in excess of $9 million in clerical errors, which the accountant should have picked up.
"That's what is in that report. That's how they came about that $10 million. It's a clerical error. That's why I said it is essential to review it.
"So the FNM and I [were] being blamed for $10 million of clerical error. All you had to do was review the report, and you would have found it was a clerical error."
The Nassau Guardian did not locate those "clerical errors" in the report of forensic auditor, UHY Bain and Associates.
Former Minister of Health Dr. Bernard Nottage has said the money was "lost" during the Ingraham administration.
But the period for the unaccounted for $10 million in pharmaceuticals was 2013.
The forensic accounting report also points to alleged abuses in relation to pharmaceuticals and medical supplies while Minnis was minister of health.
The report covers the period July 1, 2006 through June 30, 2013.
The forensic accounting report points to a report of the hospital's internal auditor.
"The Interal Audit concluded sample results revealed that an excess of $10 million in inventory did not physically exist in the pharmacy during the year (2013), but remained in the centricity system," the forensic accounting report says.
The report also says that, on several occasions, lack of effective controls allowed expensive pharmaceuticals and emergency supplies to reach their expiration date, instead of allowing for the transfer of the drug before expiry.
When Nottage accused the FNM administration of "losing" the PHA's money, he was responding to Montagu MP Richard Lightbourn who called on the government to be transparent regarding the report.
When asked if any of the concerns raised by the auditors were ever brought to his attention when he served as minister health between 2007 and 2012, Minnis said no.
"Anytime there is anything negative, they blame someone else," he said.
"If there is something positive, they accept the glory."
Minister of Health Dr. Perry Gomez said the government will "do the right thing" once the PHA is done with its investigation into the alleged abuses.

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