X-ray giant Unilabs last week ended its collaboration with the Romanian clinic Centrul Medical Transilvania (CMT). “Dialogue with the regional health authorities” and “the uncertainty this case has created” were given as reasons. In a letter from Helse Sør-Est to Unilabs, however, another reason emerges: Helse Sør-Est would withhold payment for X-ray services if Unilabs did not terminate the Romania agreement by 1 March. The warning was sent on the basis of news’s case that Unilabs secretly sent tens of thousands of Norwegian X-rays to Romania for investigation. Over 53,000 images were examined by doctors without Norwegian authorization. Unilabs receives strong criticism from the managing director of Helse Sør-Est, Terje Rootwelt, in the letter, which lists a number of concrete breaches of agreement. – This claim is not tenable “Helse Sør-Öst RHF hereby demands that the use of subcontractors in Romania under the contract cease immediately.” CEO Rootwelt believes that Unilabs has broken the contract with Helse Sør-Öst on a number of points, and “has not acted as a loyal counterparty to the contract”. The contract states that all subcontractors must be approved by Helse Sør-Öst. Rootwelt rejects Unilabs’ attempt to instead refer to the Romanian doctors as consultants. “This claim is not tenable. The ban on the use of subcontractors in the contract is explicit, and not to be misunderstood,” writes Rootwelt. – Directly incorrect information Health South-East is not only reacting to the fact that Unilabs kept the Romania clinic hidden between 2016 and 2022. HSØ director Rootwelt believes that Unilabs director Baber Qazi has provided “directly incorrect information”. When Helse Sør-Est asked Unilab questions about radiologists abroad after news made contact on 8 November, Qazi omitted to tell about the clinic CMT. Only when Helse Sør-Öst in a letter on 1 February demanded to have all the documentation on the table, did Unilabs tell about the radiologists in Romania. – Unilabs has provided incomplete and incorrect information, says Director of Medicine and Health Sciences in Health South-East, Ulrich Johannes Spreng to news. Not unproblematic with doctors without approval Unilabs has always maintained to news that the use of Romanian radiologists without Norwegian approval is unproblematic. Managing director Baber Qazi has referred to the work carried out by the unauthorized doctors in Romania for “preliminary investigations”. All of the more than 53,000 examinations must then have been re-examined, described and signed by two radiologists with Norwegian authorization. Health South-East director Rootwelt does not buy Unilabs’ explanation, and believes the practice is a breach of the agreement: “It is clear from the requirement specification that all radiologists must have Norwegian specialist approval”, writes Rootwelt. Photo: Rolv Christian Topdahl The director points out that Unilabs has never stated that it would use unauthorized personnel as “assistants”. Helse Sør-Øst also believes that the practice may be a breach of the Health Personnel Act. The law states that companies such as Unilabs can only use assistants in processing if this is necessary: ”There is no need for a double assessment of the images as described and carried out by the subcontractor”, notes HSØ. Unilabs Unilabs is a private provider of healthcare services in Norway that primarily offers services in radiology, but also medical laboratory services. In Norway, Unilabs has 294 employees. The group in 2021 was bought by the investment company AP Moller Holding, which also owns the Danish shipping giant Maersk. The seller was the Swiss buyout fund Apax Partners. Unilabs has a total of more than 14,200 employees in 15 countries. During the last five available accounting years, Unilabs has increased its operating profit by 130 percent. In total, Unilabs is left with a profit of NOK 238.5 million in the same period. Source: Brønnøysund registers, Bizweb, Unilabs. Social dumping The clinic in Romania itself writes on social media that they offer “Scandinavian quality at Romanian prices”. HSØ believes Unilabs is breaking the contract when they use healthcare personnel who earn significantly less than they would in Norway. “It now emerges after repeated inquiries to Unilabs Norge AS that employees of subcontractors in Romania do not have salary conditions in accordance with the contract…” Illustration: Mari Grafsrønningen news has previously written that the two radiologists in Romania with Norwegian authorization earn equivalent to what they would have received in Norway. The local Romanian doctors and secretaries earn a market salary in Romania, which corresponds to approximately one third of the salary level in Norway for the specific professional groups. news has asked Unilabs to respond to the accusations from Helse Sør-Öst, but Unilabs director Baber Qazi is content to confirm that they have received the letter: – We can assure you that we take the situation seriously and will, as always, respond to Helse Sør – East directly, writes Qazi to news. The Norwegian Data Protection Authority will look into the case. Health Sør-East also believes that the radiologists in Romania should never have had access to Norwegian patient information – since the subcontractor was not approved by the health authority. The Norwegian Data Protection Authority tells news that they do not know the case beyond the media coverage, but that they will now assess the case. – Based on what is written in the article, this is a matter that may be relevant for us to look into, says subject director Susanne Lie. She believes it is too early to say anything about whether the regulations have been broken. Helse Vest supports the criticism The state pays for approximately nine out of ten patients who come to Unilabs. Helse West and Helse Nord stand behind the criticism that Helse Sør-Öst directs at Unilabs. – We generally agree with the assessments that Helse Sør-Öst has made, but the agreements with Helse West and Helse Sør-Est are not exactly the same. Helse Vest will follow up on the same issues with Unilabs in a separate letter and call a follow-up meeting about this, says specialist director Bjørn Egil Vikse at Helse Vest to news. Helse Vest and professional director Bjørn Egil Vikse believe Unilabs has broken the agreement by using a Romanian clinic without approval. Photo: Rolv Christian Topdahl Helse Nord’s owner director Hilde Rolandsen writes in an e-mail to news: “Helse Nord stands by the fact that Unilabs should have informed us in advance about the agreement with the Romanian company so that we could ensure that specialist approval, data security, wages and working conditions were in accordance with the agreement with Helse Nord.”
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Health South-East rages against Unilabs after hidden Romania agreement – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
