Doctor may be held responsible for using health unit energy to charge car, says lawyer

The use of energy from a UBS in Pará de Minas to charge a doctor's private car may generate administrative liability.

According to lawyer João Gontijo, the use of public resources must serve the community and not private interests.

The case had repercussions after a video showed the vehicle parked on the sidewalk with an extension cord connected to the unit's external socket.

According to the city hall, the health professional works as a scholarship holder of the federal program Mais Médicos para o Brasil.

The city hall will notify the doctor and contact the coordination of the federal program to request the initiation of disciplinary proceedings.

The use of electrical energy from a Basic Health Unit (UBS) to charge a doctor's private car may constitute an irregular use of public resources and result in administrative liability for the public servant.

The assessment is from lawyer specialist in Public Law João Gontijo, heard by g1 after the repercussion of a video that shows the professional using a socket from the unit to recharge the private vehicle, in Pará de Minas, in the Center-West of Minas.

According to the expert, Public Administration must follow the principle of public purpose, which determines that goods and resources are used for the benefit of the community and not to serve private interests.

"Thus, the use of electrical energy from an entity to recharge a public servant's private vehicle, without authorization or justification linked to the public service, is irregular conduct, as it represents the use of public resources for private benefit, which may give rise to the determination of possible administrative responsibility on the part of the public servant", he explained.

João emphasizes, however, that the analysis of legality depends on the purpose of using the resource.

"The illegality of the conduct is always linked to the purpose of the use, whether to serve the public or private interest", he stated.

Understand the case

The case came to light after a video circulated on social media showing a doctor recharging his own electric car at a UBS in Pará de Minas. In the images, the vehicle appears parked on the sidewalk, while an extension cord crosses the wall to an outlet outside the unit.

According to City Hall, the car belongs to a doctor linked to the federal government as a fellow with the Mais Médicos para o Brasil Program.

In a statement, the city hall classified the episode as a serious incident and stated that it repudiates any type of misuse of public property. The professional will be notified by the Municipal Health Department, together with the Municipal Attorney General’s Office.

The occurrence will also be communicated to the State Coordination Committee (CCE) and the National Coordination of the program, linked to the Secretariat of Work Management and Health Education (SGTES), of the Ministry of Health.

The objective is to formalize the communication of the facts and request the establishment of a disciplinary procedure to evaluate the application of the penalties provided for in the program rules.