The Auditor General of the City of Buenos Aires (AGCBA, for its acronym in Spanish) conducted an analysis of the 2009 administration of the Maria Ferrer Hospital, specializing in the center for rehabilitation and prevention of respiratory diseases. In its report they observed deficiencies in the maintenance of equipment and lack of medical equipment.

According to the investigation of the City Watchdog, approved in 2011, the health provider founded in 1936, "doesn’t have preventive equipment and the time it takes to repair any damages is usually very long." Sometimes, "they do not have the equipment necessary for the proper care of patients."

In fact, the report notes that the medical clinic area "has a shortfall of respirators and the noninvasive ventilation equipment (in use) is insufficient due to the slow repair of equipment and lack of proper renovation and upgrade." Meanwhile, "the four iron lungs of the Home Respiratory Unit receive only corrective maintenance rather than preventive."

Aligned with the faulty appliance, the AGCBA said that "half of the equipment of the cardiology unit is obsolete", with a precedence of more than 15 years, the two microscopes in Pathology are from 1972 and 1978, and "work with limitations." In Hemotherapy, they have two blood bank refrigerators, "the newest is 5 years old," and in the area of Diagnostic Imaging there are 6 apparatus, three of which "are obsolete" and partially functional.

Despite the shortcomings detected, the Audit of Buenos Aires said that "the quality of staff and social responsibility with which they perform their duties could replace in some areas, the problems of physical structure and instruments."

Moreover, the agency noted that the nursing area "does not have orderlies" during certain times of day, such as "from 6pm to 12am," and "the elevators are not enabled because they have no insurance."

In addition, the Surgery Unit has no beds, which means that "the patient usually checks in on the day of the surgery." The Audit added that the Department has a single operating room and lack of coverage of all weekly hours of anesthesia. The "resolution of the above limitations would reduce waiting times to the minimum required to perform pre-op studies.”

Hospital Cleaning

Century Green SA is the cleaning company that works in the hospital, the agency noted that "Maria Ferrer does not have a statement according to which the company can control, ignoring all the obligations incumbent upon it, affecting sectors, the cleaning method used or the number of agents needed.”

Billing and Collection Services

According to the audit "control payments are hampered by a new procedure of billing and collections." The billing, collection services, and auditing of benefits was reformed in 2008. Through the Recovery Module Expense, called the Hospital Management System (SIGEOS, for its acronym in Spanish), public hospitals rewrite the bills to the various welfare projects for the medical care services provided.

Such is the difficulty, that the auditors identified "a level of uncollectible revenues during 2009 of nearly 90%." In fact, in December of that year "services worth $ 110,000 were not charged."

It should be added that the Ferrer "does not use the SIGEOS system because the Minister did not give them the password," and because, "the staff as a whole was not trained”.