site.btaUPDATED Health Minister: Human Resource Is the Capital of Bulgarian Healthcare

Minister of Health Silvi Kirilov told reporters here on Monday that the capital of Bulgarian healthcare is the human resource, the people, the entire medical staff. He added that the state should take care of both the building stock and the staff.

Commenting on complaints about the health system from medical professionals and the public, Kirilov said: "Our healthcare system with all its flaws is extremely accessible, the care provided is timely. The point is to create a system for quality assessment."

The Minister noted that protesting is a fundamental right of all workers and added that the problems date back to more than a decade ago. He said that there are similar problems at different levels across Europe.

According to Kirilov, the problems cannot be solved piecemeal but require a systematic approach, which would lead to equity and sustainability.

Commenting on the topic of building a national children’s hospital, Kirilov stated that "the fact that there is a public board that participates in all the activities of the management of the health investment company for the children's hospital is part of the guarantee". He added: "I would like to say that this memorandum between the company in question and the European Investment Bank was signed by the government of Academician [Nikolay] Denkov with finance minister Assen Vassilev. On the basis of this memorandum are these three reports, which were completed in early June. As a conscientious servant, I shared the contents of these reports in a letter to [the Ministry of] Finance." He concluded that this report affects every Bulgarian family, and using it for political purposes is not ideal.

The Minister visited the Multiprofile Hospital for Active Treatment in Blagoevgrad where he unveiled a renovated transfusion haematology department.