2024-09-30 08:00:00
Can we be excluded from a call for tenders for just one kilometer too many? The answer is no, and then yes, and then finally no, according to what the Gdalevitch sisters, who own a private surgery clinic, have observed.
For the second time in less than a year, the owners of a private surgery center in Montreal noted that they were unable to obtain a contract from the McGill University Health Center (MUHC), even though their bid was the most economic.
Last spring, surgeons Marie and Perry Gdalevitch believed in their chances of landing a MUHC contract.
The Montreal Children’s Hospital of the MUHC was looking for a subcontractor for five years to entrust it with approximately 4,100 surgeries and endoscopies per year.
The objective was to reduce waiting lists, indicated the call for tenders.
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Surgeons Marie and Perry Gdalevitch
Photo : Ivanoh Demers
We were the only ones who were available to be able to start catching up on these surgeries in the summer, says Dr. Perry Gdalevitch.
This was not their first experience, since they had previously helped Sainte-Justine Hospital, Montreal’s other children’s hospital, to reduce their waiting list.
Their bid for the MUHC was $21.6 million. A saving of around 5 million compared to the other two bidding clinics.
After multiple questionnaires and inspection visits, the MUHC finally canceled the call for tenders during the summer and finally published another almost identical one a few weeks later.
There was one change: the distance between the Children’s and the candidate clinic should not exceed 8 km, compared to 10 km in the previous version.
The problem is that the Gdalevitch sisters’ surgery center is located about 9 km from the Children’s, therefore excluded from the new call for tenders.
By way of explanation, the MUHC sent them a note explaining that the establishment had to be more specific, particularly with regard to our patients (age group), the expertise of the clinical teams, the material need. Not a word, however, on the 8 km criterion.
We really had the impression that it was to exclude us from the only other competitor who was there, laments Dr. Perry Gdalevitch. Reducing the distance by 2 km was negligible, we agree.
New turnaround, shortly after an email from Radio-Canada
Shortly after being contacted by Radio-Canada to understand this change, a MUHC spokesperson suggested that we would return to the initial 10 km. The kilometer perimeter will be expected to change from eight to ten kilometers. An addendum will be published to adjust the distance criterion between the HME and the bidders, specifies Christine Bouthillier.
The latter emphasizes that a dozen crucial adaptations appear in the new call for tenders.
Among the key specifications, it is imperative that the successful bidder has facilities located on the ground floor or with a lift capable of accommodating an ambulance stretcher.
Adaptations that would not pose a problem for entrepreneurs.
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Karounga Diawara, professor and co-director of the Economic Law Research Center at Laval University
Photo : Radio-Canada / Natasha MacDonald-Dupuis
In the opinion of the law professor at Laval University and co-director of the Karounga Diawara Economic Law Research Center, to change an initial call for tenders and limit the mileage, the client must have a well-founded technical explanation ( …) and the bidder has the right to request an explanation.
Furthermore, the publication of a new call for tenders reduces emulation and rivalry, because each bidder is aware of the price offered by the others.
The goal of a call for tenders is to save money, to obtain the best value for money, recalls Mr. Diawara. According to him, this is clearly a file for the Public Procurement Authority (AMP).
Dismissed for the 2nd time at the MUHC
In the fall of 2023, Radio-Canada reported that the MUHC and two partners had disqualified bidders who would have allowed them to save tens of millions of dollars to subcontract various surgeries to the private sector.
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The McGill University Health Center (MUHC)
Photo : Radio-Canada / Luc Lavigne
The MUHC wanted to conclude an agreement with a CMS that held accreditation from Accreditation Canada. The sisters’ surgery center and three other providers who had obtained their license from the Ministry of Health to operate a CMS in 2023 had been disqualified.
To date, we really have the impression that the way in which calls for tenders have been won and managed does not correspond to the objectives of the calls for tenders system, namely to increase competition to reduce prices, to reduce the burden (on hospitals) and allow the catch-up of surgeries in CMS
A quote from Dr. Perry Gdalevitch
Dr. Perry Gdalevitch says she has informed the Ministry of Health of the situation and plans to complain to the AMP. The two surgeons must also evaluate whether they submit a new offer.
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