From March 1, the Pediatric Surgery Department at the Multi-profile Hospital for Active Treatment (MBAL) “St. Anna“ in Varna will cease its activities, the medical institution announced, BTA reports. The reason is the resignations submitted by doctors working in the specialized sector. They have declared that they are starting work in a private medical institution on the territory of another Black Sea municipality. According to the latest information, this is the new children's hospital in Burgas.
The management of “St. Anna“ has already sent an official letter to the Regional Health Inspectorate in Varna to inform about the upcoming change. After March 1, patients under 18 years of age who need specialized surgical care must be referred by competence.
There was tension around pediatric surgery at “St. Anna“ a year ago. At that time, the department was temporarily closed due to a shortage of staff. On February 10, it began to operate normally again. The hospital also states that the pediatric surgery department is among the last to be fundamentally renovated in the hospital and has new operating rooms and updated equipment. Over the past year, with the exception of the last month, in which all employees at the hospital received only their basic salaries due to unpaid funds from the National Health Insurance Fund and the Ministry of Health, doctors' salaries in the department have not been below five minimum wages.
We recall that in mid-January, employees at the “St. Anna“ in Varna went on a protest, as they indicated that they had only received their basic salaries, but not the additional remuneration they had earned. People raised posters expressing their dissatisfaction that they were saving lives, but were miserable and could not pay their bills normally.
The executive director of the hospital, Dr. Krasimir Petrov, indicated that the money received from the Ministry of Health in the relevant month was not enough to pay the additional remuneration. There are no funds for the usual additional payments for on-call work, increased workload, etc. and it is natural for tension to arise, since people only receive their basic salaries, Petrov indicated and added that there are also difficulties in relations with the Health Insurance Fund. The hospital has unpaid about 1.3 million leva for the last year, Petrov specified. According to him, these are actually performed activities for which the insurance fund has not paid.
The big problem is that hospitals such as “St. Anna“ are basically underfunded, the doctor pointed out. He recalled that the hospital practically takes on all emergencies, and not only for the region. There is a rule that every hospital must provide emergency care, but in practice this is not implemented, Petrov pointed out at the time. According to him, this is the reason why hospitals like “St. Anna“ are presumed losers, since they take on the most severe cases and cannot return anyone. Petrov also pointed out that the payment for emergencies is very low - about 46 leva per patient who has passed, which leads to the accumulation of financial deficits for the hospital. He also pointed out as a problem that there are fewer and fewer doctors who want to be on duty.
Hospitals like “St. Anna“, which is practically the Varna “Pirogov“, should have a special status, Petrov emphasized in January. According to him, the reason is that while other hospitals can afford to perform only elective surgeries and choose their patients, this one cannot do so. This hospital is a social one and no patient is turned away, he pointed out at the time.