The Vitebsk Regional Prosecutor's Office has analyzed the implementation of anti-corruption legislation in the region's healthcare system

The Vitebsk Regional Prosecutor's Office has analyzed the implementation of anti-corruption legislation in the region's healthcare system.

The analysis showed that the work carried out in the sphere of combating corruption does not fully meet the requirements of the legislation, as evidenced, among other things, by the facts of corruption crimes committed by officials of healthcare institutions in the region.

Thus, in the healthcare sector of Vitebsk region in 2017, 8 corruption crimes were recorded (out of 276, or 3%), however, already in the first half of the current year, the situation has changed, and the share of corruption crime has increased to 7% of the total number of crimes in this category (13 out of 183).

Prosecutors have identified instances of improper execution of obligations to comply with anti-corruption restrictions, and their untimely signing by heads of healthcare institutions and organizations.

The prosecutor's attention was also drawn to the improper organization of financial control over public officials of healthcare institutions, including violations of the procedure for declaring income and property.

Violations of the procedure for providing and using gratuitous (sponsorship) assistance to healthcare institutions were revealed, as well as improper accounting of actually worked time by medical workers during their stay outside the republic, which in turn led to unjustified salary payments.

Numerous facts of violations of legislation on the procurement of goods (works, services), including in construction, both at the expense of budget and own funds of institutions, have been established, which are classified as offenses that create conditions for corruption.

Corruption manifestations in the region's healthcare sector were, among other things, a consequence of the untimely identification of existing corruption risks, insufficient systemic measures to combat corruption, and often, the formal organization of the activities of anti-corruption commissions.

Based on the results of the analysis, the regional prosecutor's office has submitted

submission to the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee with a demand to eliminate the identified violations of anti-corruption legislation, the causes and conditions that contributed to them, as well as to bring the guilty officials to disciplinary responsibility.

In general, based on the results of the analysis of the implementation of anti-corruption legislation requirements conducted by the prosecutor's offices of the region in healthcare organizations and institutions, 40 acts of prosecutorial response were submitted, 10 employees of the specified sphere were officially warned, and the initiation of bringing more than 30 officials to disciplinary, material, and administrative responsibility was initiated.

Vera Larkova, Prosecutor of the Department of the Regional Prosecutor's Office.