Medics at Sofia’s Pirogov hospital, Bulgaria’s biggest emergency centre, will call off a planned strike on July 13 2007 only if negotiations with the Health Ministry lead to specific results, strike committee spokesperson Svetlozar Sardovski said.

Otherwise the medics will launch a one-hour protest at 8am in front of the Pirogov building, he said, as quoted by Focus news agency.

The medics are refusing to negotiate with Health Minister Radoslav Gaisarski. They want to talk to a higher-level official such as Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev or his Deputy Prime Minister in charge of health care, Emel Etem.

The medics started protesting in May 2007, demanding higher salaries and better equipment.

An examination of the condition of the emergency centre revealed that the hospital was not being managed successfully, and the medics demanded a change of the board of directors. Gaidarski announced the changes on July 9 2007, a few days after the agreed deadline. The medics remained unsatisfied with the changes and demanded further negotiations.