THE boards of directors of eight state-owned hospitals have been reshuffled.
Health Minister Radoslav Gaidarski ordered the changes on December 16, the ministry’s media office said.
According to the ministry, the changes were made because of the poor financial state of the hospitals.
An inspection by ministry officials found that six of the hospitals had run up large debts.
Gaidarski dismissed members of the boards of directors of the Pirogov Emergency Hospital, Queen Ioanna, and Alexandrovska Hospital, all three in Sofia; St Marina Hospital in Varna; Dr Georgi Stranski Hospital in Pleven; and the University General Hospital in Stara Zagora.
However, Gaidarski did not dismiss the directors of the hospitals.
The ministry said that the decision to make changes to the boards followed a careful analysis of medical and financial indicators, the causes of indebtedness, and options to stabilise and develop the hospitals.
Earlier in December, the Cabinet extended 10.3 million leva to cover the debts of hospitals. This sum represented only five per cent of their obligations. The money was found by revising the Health Ministry budget.
In an interview with a Bulgarian-language newspaper, Gaidarski said that some hospitals could go bankrupt in 2006 because of their lack of funds and large debts.
Gaidarski launched his hospital recovery campaign almost two months ago.
On November 9, he dismissed the heads of three hospitals, two in Sofia and one in Plovdiv. Those fired were Professor Alexander Chirkov, head of St. Ekaterina Hospital; Vladimir Pilosov, head of the National Cardiology Hospital (NCH); and Dr. Stefan Dimov, head of St. George’s Hospital in Plovdiv.
The dismissal of prominent medic Chirkov led to public protests on November 11. Hospital staff, as well as current and former patients, and several prominent public figures, protested against Gaidarski’s decision.
Gaidarski responded that his decision was based on a study of the work of nine hospitals. The study found that a total debt of 191 million leva had been accumulated by all Bulgarian hospitals, of which 109 million leva in debt was accumulated by only nine, including St. Ekaterina Hospital, NCH and St.George’s Hospital.
On November 11, the Cabinet issued a media statement saying that it “supported all measures taken by the Ministry of Health” and said that the ministry had the will and the willingness to bring order to the system. All Cabinet ministers supported Gaidarski’s decision, the statement said.
