From August 1, two additional ambulances with medical teams will start working on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. The measure was taken by decision of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Tourism in order to ensure faster access to emergency assistance at the height of the summer season, when the number of tourists is the highest, reports bTV.
One ambulance will be based in “Sunny Beach“, and the other – in “Golden Sands“. The additional teams should support the work of local emergency medical centers, which are under heavy load during the summer.
According to representatives of the system workers, however, the two additional teams are extremely insufficient, especially for the Southern Black Sea Coast. According to the unionist from “Zashchita“ Klimentin Milchev, who is a long-time ambulance driver, the needs of the region have been increasing for years due to the expansion of the resorts and the greater tourist flow.
A total of about 20 teams of the Emergency Medical Center work in the Burgas region. However, along the coast, the ambulances are distributed between Burgas, Nessebar and the other resort municipalities, with some areas having only one team.
The workload is particularly high during the summer months. According to Milchev, within a 12-hour shift, the teams in Burgas serve 14-16 addresses, and the total number of signals for one shift exceeds 100. Often, ambulances from Burgas are redirected to Nessebar, Pomorie, “Sunny Beach“, Primorsko or Tsarevo, when there is no free team in the respective region.
“With one additional team in “Sunny Beach“, it is difficult to cover the needs of the entire Southern Black Sea Coast“, the unionist believes. According to his estimates, between four and six more medical teams are needed for the resorts alone during the active summer season.
The technical condition of some of the vehicles also remains a problem. The ambulances are equipped with the necessary equipment for resuscitation, but many of them have a high mileage. Some of the vehicles are about eight years old and have covered between 350,000 and 500,000 kilometers. In a 12-hour shift, an ambulance often covers over 200 kilometers.