Directors of municipal hospitals to organise a national protest

Ana Mihova
Sonya Stamboliyska

Heads of municipal and private hospitals will launch a national protest if the Government fails to meet their demands for immediate legislative amendments which must place all hospitals in a favorable competitive environment. This was announced yesterday by directors of hospitals across Bulgaria.

The demand is backed by about 150 hospitals which set a deadline to the Cabinet until February 15. Directors urged for the requirement of the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) for two specialists in each diagnosis related group to be abolished. The medics also demanded the healthcare budget drafted for 2010 to be at least the same as for 2009 in order for medical institutions to operate normally. They required further that delegated budgets be revoked. In their words, so far, municipal hospitals have received merely 50 % of their budget for December, while large state hospitals were allocated a 100% of the funds. According to hospital directors, the lack of funds could lead to the closing down of all 156 municipal hospitals in the next few months. They indicated that among the hospitals threatened with being shut down are those in the towns of Svishtov, Gotse Delchev, Pomorie, which treat 5,000-10,000 patients per year. Later yesterday, the Health Minister Dr. Bozhidar Nanev said that in the Sofia district and in other places visited by the Health Ministry all efforts for protests, demonstrations and civil unrest have been overcome. According to him, the process of closing down hospitals in the country will continue. By the end of the year, dozens of hospitals could be shut down. " It has been difficult to explain everything in a simple way given the conditions under which the current Government assumed office and no changes had been made for years on end. However, we have tried for months to explain the objectives of the reform,'' explained to Klassa Nanev.