The new building of the Vilnius City Mental Health Center was completed last November, but it still stands unused - there is no furniture or equipment in the building.
Vilnius city municipalities According to the director of administration, Adomas Bužinskas, the new building of the so-called Summer Hospital is not yet in operation, as the public procurement of the necessary furniture and equipment has not yet been completed.
According to him, the necessary information for conducting public procurement reached the municipality only in April.
Hospital director Martynas Marcinkevičius says that public procurement procedures are very complicated: some of them were announced in May, but no suppliers have appeared.
In order to determine who failed to properly perform their duties, the municipality launched an internal inspection.
Seeks to jumpstart the process
A total of 1,45 million euros was allocated for the purchase of furniture and equipment for the Summer Hospital.
According to A. Bružinskas, the municipal administration is currently working intensively to complete the preparation of all documents required for the procurement in the coming weeks.
"In accordance with the provisions of the Public Procurement Law, procurement will be divided in order to increase competition and create opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises to participate in procurement," the director of the administration told BNS.
"We hope to promptly purchase equipment and furniture, and to use this year's planned budget funds efficiently and purposefully," he added.
Specific furniture required
According to M. Marcinkevičius, the hospital needs very specific equipment, which complicates the public procurement process.
According to him, the new building will treat elderly and acutely ill patients, so it must be equipped with furniture that will prevent patients from injuring themselves or the staff.
"This building will house acute psychiatry and gerontopsychiatry (psychiatry of the elderly and senile people – BNS), where there are twice as many specific requirements, because these are people who are quite restless, sometimes aggressive, and also old people who have various mobility disabilities and the like," said M. Marcinkevičius.
According to him, this is the first time such a building has been constructed in the entire history of Lithuania's independence, so no similar public procurement tenders have been held so far.
For this reason, many questions arise for all parties to the tender - both the procurement authorities and the interested companies.
Competition conditions have been adjusted since last year
According to M. Marcinkevičius, furniture and equipment purchases are organized through two institutions: the Vilnius Municipality Public Procurement Service and the Central Purchasing Organization.
The hospital intends to purchase medical beds in the near future - the institution submitted a request to do so back in July of last year.
According to M. Marcinkevičius, this public procurement was successfully coordinated and uploaded to the procurement system in May, but for some time no suppliers appeared who could carry out the tender.
"A few weeks ago, one (appeared – BNS), but we somehow hesitated to buy from just one. Well, now a second (supplier – BNS) has appeared, so we'll try it," said the hospital manager.
The situation is somewhat different, according to M. Marcinkevičius, with the purchases organized by the Vilnius Municipality - their conditions are still being negotiated. The hospital plans to purchase upholstered and cabinet furniture through the municipality's Public Procurement Service.
The head of the summer hospital said he disagreed with the Vilnius municipality's claim that the information necessary to conduct public procurement only reached the municipality in April.
"It really wasn't like that. (…) Maybe they imagine that the final options that suited them were already presented (in April - BNS). But discussions and coordination with the municipality have been going on since last year," said M. Marcinkevičius.
According to him, it is expected that the municipality's procurement will be organized within the next month.
Cost 14 million euros
As BNS reported, the new 4,2 thousand square meter hospital building will be spread over three floors.
The first floor of the building will house the Geriatric Psychiatry Department, which will have separate wards for men and women, shared spaces for activities, and a cafeteria. The second floor will house the Acute Psychiatry Department with separate courtyards, ensuring greater patient and staff safety and patient care needs.
The psychosocial rehabilitation facilities are spread across all three floors of the building. There will be not only wards, but also a gym, art and music therapy, physiotherapy, woodworking, massage rooms, and a cafeteria.
To ensure maximum security, the wards of the Acute Psychiatric Department are equipped with anti-vandal measures - the windows are shatterproof, and the plumbing fixtures are protected from damage. Each department will have a guard post, and patients will be able to move freely within the department and in the courtyards.
The new Vasaras Hospital complex cost 14 million euros.
Author Karina Vladičkė
