site.btaBulgaria Marks National Salvation Day, Commemorates Doctors Who Died in Line of Duty

National Salvation Day is observed on August 15 across Bulgaria. It is dedicated to the memory of all doctors, nurses, police officers, volunteers and members of the general public who died saving the life of others. August 15 has been marked in the country as Salvation Day every year since 2005.

The initiative for Salvation Day came from Dr Totko Naidenov, Editor-in-Chief of the "Bulgarski Lekar" ("Bulgarian Physician") magazine, and was supported by the Military Medical Aacademy (MMA), the Ministry of Health, the Bulgarian Medical Association, the Bulgarian Red Cross and the trade unions. The original idea was to commemorate Stefan Cherkezov, a 26-year-old doctor who saved 47 people from a burning bus and died of his severe burns in 1963.

 The names of over 130 doctors and 20 nurses who died while on duty are known, mostly after performing difficult overnight surgeries, ambulance accidents, as well as after being infected with their patients’ illnesses, said the MMA, where a minute of silence will be observed at noon. The lists also include police officers, mine rescuers, and ordinary citizens who lost their lives saving others. After the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the “black lists” were expanded with the names of over 150 doctors, nurses, paramedics, and ambulance drivers who helped patients with coronavirus until the very end, but lost the battle for their own lives, the Academy further stated.

Invited to attend the minute of silence are representatives of the Presidency, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of the Interior, the General Directorate for Fire Safety and Civil Protection, as well as non-governmental and trade union organizations.