Scandal in a Kicillof hospital: $400 million in ghost shifts and front men

A journalistic investigation has raised suspicions about the management of public funds at the El Dique Hospital, located in Ensenada and under the jurisdiction of the Buenos Aires Ministry of Health led by Nicolás Kreplak, after detecting payments of nearly $400 million for supposed on-call replacements since 2024.

The facility, specialized in rehabilitation and with fewer than 80 beds, does not have an external on-call service. Despite this, the executive director, María de las Nieves Yezzi Herrera, submitted over a thousand “on-call replacements” to the provincial government through monthly spreadsheets, according to an investigation released by Telenoche and Clarín.

The analyzed documents cover the period from June 2024 to June 2026 and total $379,038,592. However, records for some months are missing, leading consulted sources to estimate that the total amount could exceed $600 million.

The spreadsheets include doctors, biochemists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, and nurses who appear to be receiving additional payments for supposed on-call duties of up to 24 hours. In January of this year, for example, the hospital reported payments of $46.2 million, while in May the figure reached $45.4 million.

Specialties and replacements under suspicion

Among the inconsistencies detected are professionals who allegedly performed tasks outside their specialty. An occupational therapist appears to be replacing clinical doctors, a speech therapist replacing therapy professionals, and an obstetrician replacing a dermatologist and clinical doctors.

Two doctors whose names were used as supposedly replaced professionals also claimed that they were unaware of those on-call duties. One stated that he was on vacation on the date indicated, and another maintained that he never performed or received payment for those services.

Minister Kreplak, architect of the quarantine in the province of Buenos Aires, publicly rejected the accusation and referred to “false and harmful news”. He later explained that certain services without effective charges administratively use “on-call replacements” as a payment mechanism, even when the professionals are not literally on call.

The investigation, however, contradicts Kicillof's minister by asserting that a good portion of those appearing to receive those additional payments are already part of the hospital staff.

Absurd and million-dollar bids at El Dique

The suspicions also extend to various contracts promoted during Yezzi Herrera's management. Among them is a private bid for 29,500 towels and bath towels, intended for a six-month period and budgeted at $152.5 million, despite the facility having around 50 inpatients.

Additionally, requests were made for, among other products, 1,000 tampons, 600 sunscreens, 5,000 large containers of hand sanitizer, 60,000 diapers, and 80,000 masks through various million-dollar procedures.