A MEMBER OF staff at a Dublin hospital who was featured in an RTÉ exposé about expensive gifts being allegedly provided to purchasing officers has stood down from his position.
In a statement, Beacon Hospital confirmed that supply chain co-ordinator Noel Bergin resigned this morning.
The hospital’s investigation into the alleged practices is ongoing and no further comment will be offered.
Accepting gifts
Last week an episode of RTÉ One’s Prime Time examined purchasing officers who were alleged to have broken some rules of their employment.
The programme looked at three people and how they engaged with suppliers of medical equipment.
In one case, the programmed claimed that a procurement officer sent an invoice to a medical supply company for a two-week holiday in Florida for his family.
In another incident, a procurement employee from a Dublin hospital allegedly approved an order of supplies from Eurosurgical Limited which came in at 10 times the cost of the price charged by the existing supplier.
Investigation
Speaking about the programme, Minister for Health Leo Varadkar said that none of those involved were HSE or Department of Health employees.
The HSE stated that they had been made aware of the allegations and conducted an internal audit of some of its own hospitals.
Payments to Eurosurgical by the HSE have been suspended while further investigations are carried out.
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