site.btaUPDATED Demolition of Old Buildings at National Children's Hospital Site to Begin This Month

The demolition of the old buildings standing at the site for the future national children's hospital in Sofia's Gorna Banya Quarter will begin by the end of the month, the government said in a press release on Tuesday. The news was reported after a meeting earlier in the day between caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev, the head of the public council for the national children's hospital project, Ivan Litvinenko, and the Executive Director of the Ivan Mitev Children's Hospital, Blagomir Zdravkov. The meeting was also attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lyudmila Petkova and Health Minister Galya Kondeva.

Kondeva said the legal claim against the relevant public procurement procedure failed in court, and a contractor was selected for the demolition of the existing buildings. The European Investment Bank (EIB) is expected to select a contractor for the technical design of the new facility. A meeting with EIB executives will be held at the end of May. Members of the public council for the project will be invited to the talks, according to the health minister.

Prime Minister Glavchev stated: "The health of the Bulgarian children is the overriding priority." He pledged that the caretaker government will fully honour the commitment to satisfy the urgent needs of the Ivan Mitev Children's Hospital. The hospital will acquire a new scanner and a new X-ray machine. The government will provide BGN 1.3 million for urgent repair of the intensive care ward and for building a new lift for patients and staff.

The Ivan Mitev Children's Hospital is the only university hospital for children's diseases in Bulgaria. It provides treatment to about 7,000 kids annually. Zdravkov and Litvinenko thanked the prime minister and his caretaker cabinet for the prompt reaction.

The representatives of the public council for the national children's hospital project insisted on a single body for coordination between the various institutions involved and a strategy for the provision of personnel in the future hospital.  Council head Litvinenko said that the single body should coordinate the actions of the Health Ministry, the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, road construction and the Health Investment Company for Children’s Hospital EAD. Easy access to the hospital should be provided, which requires an expansion of Sofia’s ring road, he noted.

The public council underscored the need of timely measures to solve the personnel crisis, because the future hospital will need many doctors and other medical professionals. Assoc Prof Maria Avramova, member of the council and head of the Clinic of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology at the Tsaritsa Joanna University Hospital in Sofia, said that the issue with personnel has existed for long and is gradually worsening, affecting all healthcare specialties, particularly the hard ones like pediatrics. The shortage of nurses is very serious. 

Lawyer Maria Sharkova, member of the public council, noted that legislative changes are necessary, and not just building and equipping the hospital. The new hospital has to meet EU quality standards, and Bulgaria lacks mechanisms for measuring quality. A sustainable environment has to be created at the hospital where the doctors and other medical professionals will work based on clear and specific rules, which requires a change in the existing medical standards and creation of new ones, particularly when it comes to pediatric specialties, palliative care and prenatal diagnostics.

The council members pointed out that there are also legal problems regarding the hospital’s status and functioning. According to the council, the future children’s hospital should be a company financed through clinical pathways and priority funding for certain activities. Marina Gineva, member of the council and the Board of Directors of the Ivan Mitev Children's Hospital, said that the priority funding for certain activities should be provided also for the hospitals across Bulgaria that carry out such treatment in their pediatric structures.

The public council for the national children's hospital project was established in July 18, 2023. Participating are doctors from the pediatrics structures in various hospitals and representatives of interested nongovernmental organizations.