THE National Hospital for Infectious Diseases in Sofia is the only place in Bulgaria for the healing of infectious diseases, and the paediatric ward is an area for children, especially infants, fighting life-threatening and life-shortening illnesses, with everything from meningitis to hepatitis to stomach virus.

Yet, if it weren’t for the wonderful doctors, nurses and other hospital staff working effectively to heal their patients, and the charity organisation One Life Bulgaria raising money for renovations, the building would crumble and fall with all the sick children inside; this would be a place we bring children to die, not to recuperate.

One of the women who started the charity is Laura Thomas, who has been to the hospital a few times with her two children when they had indications of contagious viruses. This is the only place in Bulgaria your children are sent if they show any symptoms of infectious disease. Laura said that while the staff obviously were working very hard, she was “absolutely disgusted” at the conditions. She felt she needed to do something to change things, since the Ministry of Health and the director of the hospital had not renovated the decrepit and disintegrating building. 

The hospital can boast one of the lowest mortality rates in Europe, but this is because of the fine work of the hospital staff and not the state of the building. Dr. Mangurov, the head of the children’s ward, realises that many things must be done to fix the current situation there.

He told The Sofia Echo “They did a great job back in the 1930’s of planning the hospital and the grounds”. But, it seems, the government is doing a poor job of maintaining it.

The One Life Bulgaria Charity has been behind a a number of renovations in the infants’ ward, including repainting the walls and ceilings, installing a new flush toilet system in the bathroom, replacing the lights, and adding numbers and door labels as a way of making the conditions more bearable and hygienic. The same must be done to the children’s ward, a short distance away down a corridor. Many mothers choose to stay with their child while they receive treatment, and their comfort is highly compromised by the unpleasant environment.

The main concerns currently are roof restoration, mattress replacement, and decent furniture procurement. Because of the flooding in recent months, the ceiling has begun to crack and leak. The mattresses are very old and stained, and are often wrapped in plastic so the children don’t get even sicker from being in contact with the dirty mattresses. Most of what little furniture there is has been in the hospital ward for at least 30 years and is falling to pieces.

The hospital staff is incredibly grateful to the One Life Bulgaria Charity for their aid in remedying the situation in what way they can, but there is still a lot to be done.

One of them remarked, “It’s like Berlin after the war, or maybe I should say Baghdad. The Bulgarian government should be paying for these things, not the English-speaking community of Sofia.” Unfortunately, the Bulgarian government is not funding restoration and repair efforts, and the paediatric ward is left to make do with what they have – with as much help from the One Life Bulgaria Charity as possible.