Court orders suspension of acts for outsourcing the kitchen and food transportation at Sehac, in Petrópolis

Currently, the kitchen at Hospital Alcides Carneiro is responsible for the production and distribution of more than a thousand meals per day to other health units, such as the Emergency Care Units (UPAs) of Centro and Cascatinha, the Emergency Room of Alto da Serra, the Emergency Hospital Unit (UPH) of Posse, as well as other public bodies, such as COMDEP and Civil Defense. During the hearing, the municipal secretary of Health, Clarissa Rippel, and the president of Sehac, Luiz Cruzick, informed that outsourcing would be necessary to meet the requirements made by the National Health Surveillance, which carried out a technical visit to the unit last year and determined the implementation of improvements in the transportation of meals. "The capable and expert measure for transporting food would be to bid/hire a similar company. A preliminary study has already been carried out with the legal and technical side of nutrition, finding the ideal quantities", said the Secretary of Health. But after the complaints, the City Hall released an official note informing that there had been no decision on outsourcing the service. However, during the hearing, the unit's administration informed that an administrative procedure was already open to carry out the bidding. "As for outsourcing, I inform you that in meetings with the secretary, and with the financial sector of SEHAC, the objective is strictly to qualify the food and delivery service. As well as not to increase the cost. To this end, we carried out feasibility studies so that we can resolve and resolve the determination including the National Health Surveillance", said the president of SEHAC Luís Cruzick. Despite what had been previously reported by the city hall, the unit's nutritionist Vanessa Wendling stated that she received three visits to the hospital kitchen from representatives of two different companies interested in providing the outsourcing service. After presenting the financial data during the hearing, where SEHAC detailed that there are R$58 million in debts to suppliers alone, judge Jorge Luiz Martins accepted a recommendation from the Public Ministry and ordered the suspension of any administrative acts aimed at outsourcing SEHAC's kitchen and food transportation services. “It does not appear that the announced measures are in harmony with the financial situation of SEHAC or the municipality itself,” said the judge. Petrópolis City Hall published a Financial Calamity Decree last week and established measures that will be taken over the next six months to recover the municipality's economic-financial balance.