The General Auditor of the City of Buenos Aires (AGCBA, for its acronym in Spanish) reported that the Center for Mental Health "Dr. Hugo Rosarios" has 283 professionals, which include psychologists, psychiatrists, therapists, and other specialties, of which "only 62 have salaries and 221 are working as concurrent, trainees, and interns.”

The report states that "the area of addictions is coordinated by a psychologist on staff, but the remaining nine professionals work pro bono." It also states that "the waiting time between an appointment request and the appointment date is of approximately seventy days." Something similar happens with the music therapy team where "only one receives payment" and other four assistants are currently working as "trainees". In this sector there are long waiting lists for new patients, "with delays reaching four months, due to the lack of full time therapists."

For its part, the Office of Promotion and Prevention in Mental Health is lead by a psychologist who "does not have a professional position" while the rest of the professionals have a lower salary than they should have." Furthermore, "the area of family therapy is coordinated since 1985 by a renowned academic who works ad honorem" and "the equipment used there, like video cameras and mp3 players were acquired by the workers themselves, as well the as the safe were they are kept.”

In the pharmacy there is only one professional who "performs daily delivery of medications to patients both to the Centre as derivatives of other institutions", therefore, up to 3 p.m. "no employee is available to work the Centre”. Accordingly, the auditors of the City indicated that, on the one hand, "people who were monitored during the morning had to come back with their prescriptions during the afternoon, and on the other hand, "this situation weakens the control of the drugs delivered and the prescription archives."

The Building

Multiple irregularities were detected in the building Hugo Rosarios. One of the most striking points is that the 26 offices in that location "are not enough." Therefore, "the professionals have to tour the facility looking for a place to work and often must do it in the yard, in the hallway or in the garden.

The power line is another problem "new air conditioners were placed, but the electrical system was not prepared for more consumption."

The auditors, who visited the center between September and November 2011, noted "cracks and leaks in one of the medians that appeared because of excavations being made for the construction of new towers in a neighboring block." For them, this situation "warrants an urgent review of the appropriate agency of the Government of the City."

(In) Secure

The report, approved in July of this year, adds that "at night and during holidays, the center does not have security guards." But this situation did not go unnoticed, "in August 2010 the Center reported and reiterated in a note sent to the General Directorate of Mental Health asking for fulltime guards, especially after 8 p.m. ". Among the reasons mentioned in the letter they stress that "they possess valuable items such as psychotropic drugs, computers, copiers, printers, and training materials."

As was said and done, "at dawn on October 31st, 2010 there was a robbery in the Center’s facilities, among other areas, 1,500 tablets of Clonazepam and Alplazolam were stolen, plus computers, LCD monitors, and a DVD player.”

The note was sent in December 2010 as well as in April, May, and June 2011. Nevertheless, "at the time of the audit the Centre had no guards, private security, or police."