Estonia, Legislation, Markets and Companies, Medicine

According to the Audit Authority, the City of Tallinn recommended municipal enterprises to register themselves as contracting authorities, but East Tallinn Central Hospital acted in a different way.

"They decided that tendering was expensive and time-consuming," said Estonian State Audit Office in its latest report on local government enterprises.

Hospital management said that the objective is to provide health-care services and earn income as a commercial undertaking.

Therefore, hospital must operate as a business.

"In the medical market it is quite important to operate fully complying with the public procurement act," Peeter Mardina said.

Member of the hospital's supervisory board P. Mardina pointed out that the hospital had commissioned a legal expert study which showed that it had not violated the law.