The Parliamentary Committee on Labor, Demographic and Social Policy did not accept on the first vote a Bill to amend and supplement the Law on Medical Institutions, submitted by Kostadin Kostadinov from "Vazrazhdane" and a group of MPs. The idea for the changes is due to the protests of the medical profession for adequate remuneration for labor at all levels of the health system, said Georgi Georgiev from the parliamentary group of "Vazrazhdane", who presented the proposals for changes, BTA listed.
This is also the reason why the system is experiencing a huge staff deficit, he also said. According to him, Bulgarian nurses and young doctors are at the bottom of the wage scale not only in Bulgaria, but also in the entire EU. Our proposals are that the salaries of doctors without a specialty should be 150% of the average gross salary, and for nurses, midwives and other healthcare professionals - 140% of the average gross salary, Georgiev pointed out. It is also proposed to increase the salary for night work, as well as for additional qualification. We also propose that the Labor Inspectorate carry out inspections in medical institutions that do not comply with the provisions of the law, if this change is adopted, added Georgiev.
The Ministry of Health supports part of the project in principle, but points out that there is no financial analysis and a source of additional resources, while the Ministry of Finance focuses mainly on the budgetary effect, as well as that additional resources are assumed, but the bill has no financial justification, said Venko Sabrutev, chairman of the committee.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy (MLSP) does not support the proposals, since the current regulatory framework allows for negotiating higher remuneration rates, said Nenko Salchev, head of the “Labor Law and Working Conditions” department at the MLSP. According to him, the proposals related to control are in contradiction with basic legal principles and control cannot be carried out by two institutions on the same issue.
The right mechanism for regulating decent remuneration must be found, but by introducing the proposal for a percentage of the average gross salary, it may turn out that the amount is small for Sofia, but unbearable for a small municipal hospital, where they cannot afford to pay for medical work, said Georgi Petrov from the parliamentary group of “Progressive Bulgaria“. According to him, this will lead to an outflow of young doctors from smaller hospitals. Such a measure will not only not retain doctors in small settlements, but will also lead to even greater centralization of personnel in large cities and this is my justification for not supporting the proposed bill, Petrov also pointed out. There is enough money in healthcare, but too much is being stolen, Petrov also said, pointing out that reforms in the system are coming.
The problem with the payment of doctors is huge, the staffing deficit is becoming an increasingly big problem for Bulgarian society, said Venko Sabrutev from the parliamentary group of "We Continue the Change". According to him, the problem with the teacher deficit was solved when the state accepted that this was a priority, and today the education system does not have the deficit that existed five-seven years ago. From "We Continue the Change" we will give principled support to the proposals made by "Vazrazhdane", Sabrutev also said.
Four of the committee members voted "for" the proposed changes, there were none who voted "against", and 14 abstained.