The Minister of Labour, Solidarity, and Social Security announced that the 2023 Management and Accounts Report of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa (SCML) has been forwarded to the General Inspectorate of the Ministry for review, a process recently completed.
Maria do Rosário Palma Ramalho voiced doubts regarding the document, emphasizing the necessity of utilizing specialized audit mechanisms for comprehensive evaluations when such uncertainties arise.
“This assessment allowed me to conditionally approve the 2023 accounts report. The condition being the need for further legal justification concerning the 34 million euro payment from the Social Security Institute to the Santa Casa,” said Maria do Rosário Palma Ramalho.
The SCML claimed more than 34 million euros from the Social Security Institute in 2023 due to extraordinary expenses stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, which occurred from the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 until November 2022. This sum was received in August 2023, aiding the institution in balancing its accounts that year as it faced negative results exceeding 4.6 million euros at the time of the transfer.
The minister explained that in-depth queries were posed to both the Social Security Institute and SCML to substantiate this transfer, indicating that a conclusive justification is necessary to decide whether to close the case or proceed otherwise.
She assured that the doubts pertain only to this transfer, with the report initially arriving with positive opinions after undergoing internal and external audits conducted by Santa Casa, which are mandated to provide their assessment in the report.
“The opinions have been given, and the reports are compliant in that regard. I decided to approve them conditionally, following the inspection report, which will continue this thorough investigation,” she stated.
When asked if the audit could reveal possible irregularities during the tenure of former provider Ana Jorge, the minister remarked that “the way to evaluate any manager is by examining the accounts report.”
She further mentioned that Ana Jorge’s removal was not due to “any irregularity in performance,” but rather due to her “complete inaction as provider,” which reportedly resulted in “significantly diminished social action and the closure of facilities,” adding that the former provider did not even have a financial restructuring plan for the institution.
“Something was very wrong,” the minister argued, highlighting the contrasts in outcomes between the former and the current provider.
“Dr. Ana Jorge was in office for a year, as is the current provider. Notice the difference in results and social action between the two, both having had exactly the same duration in office. The difference, purely in terms of activity reports, is 31 million euros less [in 2023], excluding the 34 million received, to an increase of 30 million euros [in 2024],” noted Maria do Rosário Ramalho.
The minister elaborated that since the 2023 report was conditionally approved, it was returned to the General Inspectorate, tasked with verifying “all legal presumptions underlying the 34 million euro transfer” with a two-month timeframe for this assessment.
“Should the transfer be deemed regular, the conditional status or reservation in account approval will vanish. Conversely, if found to be irregular, be it wholly or partly, due to erroneous funding sources, subsequent steps must be taken accordingly,” she stated.
She also recalled that SCML is required to submit its accounts to the Court of Auditors, a procedure that has already been fulfilled by the institution.
