In Geneva, processing times for files submitted to the Health Professions Surveillance Commission are abnormally long, notes the Court of Auditors. The magistrates, who carried out this analysis, believe that it is necessary to strengthen the staff of the registry of this commission.
“This situation is not acceptable for health professionals waiting for a decision which will potentially affect their career, nor for patients hoping for recognition of their suffering,” noted Thursday the Court of Auditors. Between 2015 and 2023, the processing time for a file is well over three years and even reaches four years for decisions handed down in 2023.
Established in 2006, this commission is made up of a registry as well as 20 members divided into six sub-committees. It handles complaints and denunciations in connection with the health law. It can impose administrative sanctions, warnings, reprimands and fines against health professionals and heads of health institutions. She received an average of 73 files per year.
According to the efficiency analysis carried out by the Court of Auditors at the request of Pierre Maudet, head of the Health Department, to reduce bottlenecks and allow a significant reduction in processing times, it is essential to strengthen the human resources of the commission registry. The registry is currently staffed with 3.2 full-time equivalents (FTE).
“Tendency to stagnate”
Due to a lack of sufficient workforce, latency times have arisen throughout the different phases of the processing processes, notes the Court of Auditors. It takes on average more than 210 days for a procedure opened by the commission’s office to be effectively investigated.
The files then tend to stagnate in the subcommittee for more than 400 days, in particular because of the delay taken by the registry in drafting the investigative documents. Finally, on average, more than 540 days elapse between the decision-making of the subcommittee and the presentation of the file, including the drafting of a draft decision, in the plenary committee.
This article was automatically published. Source: ats
