The Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico issued a qualified opinion on the fiscal operations of the Bureau of the Emergency Medical Corps of the Department of Public Safety of Puerto Rico. A qualified opinion is issued when the instances of noncompliance, individually or in the aggregate, are significant but not pervasive.
The Report reveals that from 2016 to 2018, the Bureau did not submit the annual reports to the Governor of Puerto Rico, the Secretary of Public Safety, and the Legislative Assembly, as required by Act 20-2017, of the Department of Public Safety of Puerto Rico. This situation made it impossible to know the actions taken by the Bureau and to assess whether it complied with its responsibility to guarantee a service of optimal quality.
The audit points out that, as of June 30, 2019, the Bureau had $1,983,786 in accounts receivable due to the lack of internal regulations on the billing and collection of the services rendered. In addition, the Office of Finance and Budget did not maintain a subsidiary ledger of accounts receivable, a situation that did not allow the Bureau to ensure that the collections made by the contractor were remitted to the agency.
The Report publishes that 100% of the emergency medical technicians had not been evaluated with an annual written exam and 70% did not take any continuing education course in 2018, contrary to the 2012 Operational Procedures Manual. In addition, 50% of the dispatchers were not trained in prehospital care according to the Bureau's protocol. This situation may endanger the lives of citizens who need the Bureau's services.
The auditors also detected that 100% of the technicians in the sample evaluated did not have the authorization from the General Services Administration to operate official vehicles, some for as long as 16 years, as provided by the Regulation for the Administration of the Government Fleet.
As of September 6, 2019, the Bureau had 31 dispatchers and 510 emergency medical technicians. This Report covers the period from January 1, 2016, to November 30, 2019..
See Audit Report DA-21-10.
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