When will there be a children's hospital? How will you explain the scandalous 4 thousand euros per square meter for construction? With your carelessness, you are driving young people away from their hometowns and from Bulgaria!
With these questions and messages, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Silvi Kirilov from the National Women's Organization of VMRO sent a letter to the Minister of Health regarding the scandals and completely illogical actions, which are real inaction on the part of the state in the case of the children's hospital.
As women and mothers, we are following with concern the saga of the construction of the National Children's Hospital. For more than 20 years, this project has not been able to come out of the bureaucrats' drawers and, apart from saying some nice words, nothing much is happening, write the women from VMRO.
They refer to a letter sent by Monika Vasileva from VMRO - Sofia to the Ministry of Health from two weeks ago, in which the young mother poses five main questions, namely:
· What is the current status of the project to build the state children's hospital?
· Is there a specific timetable for the implementation of the construction activities and when is the hospital expected to be completed?
· What are the reasons that are delaying the implementation of this project?
· What measures are being taken to ensure the necessary financing and resources for the successful completion of the hospital?
· What measures are being taken to provide staff for this hospital?
Answers - none. Instead, it turned out that one square meter of construction cost 4,000 euros excluding VAT. Scandalous in itself, they are also angry with the women's organization of VMRO and insist on receiving answers from the Minister of Health.
They draw attention to the crisis situation with finding pediatricians and neonatologists not only in the country, but now also in Sofia by parents, as well as to the fact that there are already completely “bare“ and outright closed maternity wards and pediatrics throughout the country.
The lack of maternity and pediatric wards across the country is becoming a scourge that drives young people to large regional centers. This is also a serious factor in the depopulation of entire regions of the country, the voivodeships are also angry.
The VMRO NGO is also raising another painful topic for society - the care and treatment of children with cancer.
In 2021, the Minister of Health proposed a merger of the Government Hospital and the “Ivan Mitev” Hospital. The Recovery and Sustainability Plan envisaged the construction of a proton accelerator in the hospital's courtyard, the only one in all of Eastern Europe and particularly important for the diagnosis and treatment of children with cancer. This failed or was forgotten. But life is inexorable, time is running out, and Bulgaria's children are suffering and there is nowhere or no one to treat them.
Because of these extremely painful topics, the women of the VMRO insist on receiving answers to the questions raised as a matter of urgency.
The letter to the Minister of Health Assoc. Prof. Dr. Silvi Kirilov:
To the Minister of Health
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Silvi Kirilov
Open letter
from the National Women's Organization of the VMRO – Bulgarian National Movement
Regarding: children's healthcare and the government's indifference to the children of Bulgaria
Dear Mr. Minister,
As women and mothers, we are following with concern the saga of the construction of the National Children's Hospital. For more than 20 years, this project has not been able to come out of the bureaucrats' drawers and, apart from saying some nice words, nothing much is happening.
Two weeks ago, Monika Vasileva from VMRO - Sofia addressed five specific questions to the Ministry of Health.
· What is the current status of the project to build the state children's hospital?
· Is there a specific timetable for the implementation of the construction activities and when is the hospital expected to be completed?
· What are the reasons that are delaying the implementation of this project?
· What measures are being taken to secure the necessary funding and resources for the successful completion of the hospital?
· What measures are being taken to provide staff for this hospital?
Answers - none. Instead, it turned out that one square meter of construction cost 4,000 euros excluding VAT. Scandalous in itself.
It is literally almost impossible for parents to find a pediatrician for their newborn child. The lack of maternity and pediatric wards across the country is becoming a scourge that drives young people to large regional centers. This is also a serious factor in the depopulation of entire regions of the country.
We also raise the question of another painful topic - the care and treatment of children with cancer. In this regard, the state has done almost nothing in recent years, and the problem is real.
In 2021, the Minister of Health proposed a merger of the Government Hospital and the “Ivan Mitev” Hospital. The Recovery and Sustainability Plan envisaged the construction of a Proton Accelerator in the hospital's courtyard, the only one in Eastern Europe and particularly important for the diagnosis and treatment of children with cancer. This failed or was forgotten. But life is inexorable, time is running out, and the children of Bulgaria are suffering and there is nowhere or no one to treat them.
Despite the multiple increases in the NHIF budget, the money is once again not enough for adequate, high-quality and timely treatment of Bulgarian children. The state does not purchase equipment to treat our children, which is why we as parents are forced to raise funds through the media for their treatment abroad.
The National Women's Organization of VMRO calls on the Ministry of Health to come up with a clear and concrete answer in the shortest possible time in relation to the questions asked and the ways to solve the deficits in pediatric care, health care, health services and treatment of Bulgarian children.