The Directorate of Scientific and Technological Research of the Catholic University (Dictuc) sued a company for falsifying technical reports intended to evaluate a critical function: measuring the quality of water used in patients undergoing dialysis treatments.
According to the judicial document accessed by Bío Bío Investiga, the offensive was filed against Servicios Hidroaqua Dos Hermanos Limitada for the crimes of falsification of a private instrument and malicious use of a false instrument.
Dictuc is a subsidiary of the Pontificia Universidad Católica with more than 30 years of experience in engineering and laboratory services. It is one of the most prestigious study companies in Chile.
REQUEST FOR REPORTS
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The story goes like this. Since at least October 2024, the San Juan de Dios Hospital in Curicó has had a dialysis service in its facilities. Current regulations establish that the water used for this type of treatment must have a high level of purification.
Since then, and until the falsification was discovered – according to the complaint – the health facility maintained a contract for “preventive and corrective maintenance of the water treatment plants” with Hidroaqua Ltda., to take charge of the process. After sealing the agreement, the contractor requested the services of Dictuc to demonstrate that they were complying with the regulations.
In this context—as stated in the libel—two reports were requested to analyze the quality of the water. From the UC branch they delivered two documents: Essay N°1643252 and Essay N°1648408, issued in May and August of this year, respectively.
Results included endotoxin testing and heterotroph counts. That is, measurements aimed at detecting the presence of bacteria.
THE EX-WORKER
Until then, everything is fine. However, the alerts went off on December 11, 2025, when a worker who had been dismissed from Hidroaqua – according to the complaint – approached the hospital facilities. During the visit, he informed the staff that the water analysis reports issued by the company were adulterated. The message reached the head of Infrastructure of the hospital, Miguel Ormazábal Cabrera.
With this information in his possession, Ormazábal set out to review the analyzes and — according to the letter — detected various anomalies. For example, when he tried to validate documents on Dictuc’s internal platform, the verification codes turned out to be non-existent.
The identification – as detailed in the judicial action – compared to the authentic reports, lacked a digit and, in addition, they did not have the digital signature characteristic of this type of documents. That same December 11, the official reported the situation to the UC branch by email and, as stated in the complaint, requested confirmation whether the results of said reports had been intervened.
The internal investigation carried out by Dictuc, which included a comparison between the original reports on file and the copies sent by the hospital—as the organization maintains in its complaint—established a clear conclusion: the reports had been substantially manipulated.
According to the libel, the alterations would have been made with the aim of hiding results that were outside the norm and preventing them from passing through the standard verification protocols.
Likewise – according to the investigation – the code that allows validation on the Dictuc website was intentionally altered. The goal? That the system could not recognize it and, in this way, block the verification.
REQUESTED DILIGENCES
The legal action was filed before the Seventh Guarantee Court of Santiago, against those found responsible.
Through the libel, from the Dictuc, they requested that the guilty receive the maximum legal penalties, pay the costs of the trial and provide financial compensation for the damages caused.
To achieve this, it is requested that key procedures be carried out, such as summoning those involved to testify, commissioning an investigation by the PDI and carrying out a technical expert opinion that confirms the falsity of the documents.
Until now the case is being followed informally by the Public Ministry.
“NO ADVERSE EFFECTS HAVE OCCURRED”
When consulted by Bío Bío Investiga, Dictuc pointed out that the decision to judicialize the case aims to protect confidence in the technical reports issued by the institution.
—As a subsidiary company of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and with nearly 90 years of experience, Dictuc reaffirms its unrestricted commitment to quality, rigor and public faith, values that support our daily work. We have certified management systems under standards that guarantee the traceability and authenticity of all our technical reports—launched by the entity.
And they add:
—This judicial action seeks not only to protect the integrity of our brand and the services we provide to more than 2,000 clients annually, but also to protect citizens and the health system against possible consequences derived from manipulated technical information.
In addition, they reiterate that all valid reports issued by Dictuc can be verified through its official portal, www.dictuc.cl/verifica, through the validation mechanisms provided.
From the San Juan de Dios Hospital in Curicó, meanwhile, they clarify that despite what happened, the facility’s dialysis service functions normally and that there is no risk for patients.
—For the peace of mind of the users of this service, it is reported that our dialysis machines have advanced technology that, through a DIASAFE® plus filter system, prevents the transfer of any microorganism harmful to their health and that the latest tests carried out on the water plant of our dialysis are normal and accredited by the corresponding entity, DICTUC SA—they state from the health facility.
Along these lines, they highlight that “no adverse events have occurred in our patients associated with the situation described.”
In the healthcare area, they maintain that they will pursue the civil and criminal responsibilities of the external company responsible for the indicated illicit acts. In this way, they reaffirm their commitment to transparency in information, quality and security of all their healthcare processes.
This Investigation Unit tried to communicate on different occasions with Servicios Hidroaqua Dos Hermanos Ltda. However, until the closing of this edition it was not possible to obtain a response.
