From BZ/dpa
The Berlin Court of Auditors has complained about mistakes and organizational deficits in the Senate Department for Health with regard to its corona crisis management.
“In connection with the fight against the pandemic, there were significant violations in the execution of the budget within the Senate Department responsible for health,” says a report handed over by the President of the Court of Auditors, Karin Klingen, on Wednesday.
The causes given there are deficiencies in the structure and work of a corona crisis management team, which was hastily formed in 2020, as well as insufficient staffing.
As a result of its investigation, which the health administration itself had asked for in 2021, the Court of Auditors formulated recommendations so that mistakes from the past are not repeated and future crises can be better managed. These include closer networking and more cooperation between Senate administrations and other authorities involved, a clearer distribution of tasks in crisis plans and regular crisis prevention exercises.
It is necessary to prepare better organizationally for such situations. “Even before a crisis occurs, it must be clarified and practiced who has to do what, how and when,” explained Klingen. “In the acute crisis, a lack of preparation can no longer be compensated for.”
millions of costs incurred
At the beginning of the corona pandemic, there was no organizational scheme for setting up a crisis management team, according to the report.
The health administration was then unable to set up effective crisis management in the short term. “The state of Berlin could have lost income in the tens of millions.”
Secretary of State for Health Thomas Götz stated that the report by the Court of Auditors deliberately touches on wounds that need to be healed in the future. “On the one hand, the report shows the need for a coordinated, cross-district organization in health crisis situations. And at the same time, he points out the challenges of cross-departmental cooperation in the event of crises affecting society as a whole, which – like the corona pandemic – are not just limited to the health sector.”