Agadir university hospital faces scrutiny over 24 million dirham nursing services contract

16:25

A public contract worth more than 24 million Moroccan dirhams for support and nursing services at the Mohammed VI University Hospital in Agadir has come under administrative and parliamentary scrutiny, with questions raised over the eligibility of the company that won the tender.

The case concerns procurement process No. 16/2024/CHUSM, launched by the university hospital in July 2024. The controversy has resurfaced as health authorities in the Souss-Massa region examine the circumstances surrounding the contract and the implementation of services provided by care assistants.

A contract under administrative review

The dispute gained renewed attention after the regional health group launched an inquiry into the contract. The review followed concerns over delays in payments to care assistants working at the hospital, according to reports in the Moroccan press.

The employees perform duties involving direct contact with patients, making the continuity of their work an important issue for hospital operations. The reported payment delays prompted concerns about working conditions and the potential impact on the functioning of the public healthcare service.

The contract itself has also attracted scrutiny over the profile of the winning bidder.

Questions over the winning company

According to documents cited by Moroccan media, the tender was issued on July 16, 2024, as an international open call for support and care services at the university hospital. The first lot, covering care-assistant services, was valued at more than 24 million dirhams.

The tender documents were opened on September 10, 2024.

The company selected for the contract, identified in parliamentary documents as HYM NETTOYAGE, was primarily registered for activities including cleaning, laundry, catering-related services, waste management, gardening, sterilization and trading when it submitted its bid.

A parliamentary question subsequently challenged how the company's offer had been accepted for a contract involving nursing services when nursing did not appear among its registered activities at the time of the tender.

Publicly available reporting indicates that the company later added nursing-related activities to its corporate registration in December 2024, after the contract had been awarded.

Parliamentary questions focus on legal compliance

The controversy has reached Morocco's House of Representatives. In written question No. 26899, MP Fatima-Zahra Batta asked the health ministry to clarify whether the award and execution of the contract complied with the technical and legal requirements set out in the tender specifications and applicable regulations.

The question also sought clarification on the legal basis for accepting the company's bid and on the monitoring mechanisms used by the ministry before and after the contract was awarded.

Particular attention was drawn to Law No. 131.13 governing the practice of nursing professions. The parliamentary document asks whether the requirements of that legislation were properly taken into account in the procurement and subsequent implementation of the contract.

As of the parliamentary record consulted, no response from the ministry had been posted to that written question.

Broader concerns over contract implementation

The scrutiny extends beyond the company's corporate purpose. The parliamentary question also raises concerns about how personnel were employed, the nature of their contracts and remuneration, and whether the conditions governing the workforce were consistent with the tender specifications and labour legislation.

These issues are significant because outsourced healthcare support services operate within a hospital environment where staffing arrangements can directly affect continuity of patient care.

The allegations remain subject to administrative and, where applicable, judicial verification. The existence of questions or an investigation does not in itself establish that procurement rules were breached.

A test for public procurement oversight

The Agadir case highlights the importance of transparent eligibility criteria when public contracts involve services closely connected to patient care.

For authorities in Souss-Massa, the ongoing review is therefore not limited to the financial value of the contract. It also concerns whether the bidder met the required professional conditions when competing for the tender and whether those conditions remained satisfied throughout implementation.

The outcome of the administrative review and any subsequent proceedings could determine whether corrective measures are required and clarify how similar healthcare service contracts are to be managed under Morocco's evolving public health system.