site.btaPrime Minister Borissov Urges for More Harsh Sentences to Deter Assaults against Medics

Sofia, July 4 (BTA) - At Tuesday's Cabinet meeting, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov pledged full support for the doctors at Sofia's Sheinovo Maternity Hospital, the Government Information Service reported.

His comments were prompted by an incident last Saturday in which a man, allegedly in a fit of uncontrollable hysterics, assaulted an obstetric gynecologist and punched her in the head after she refused to give him immediately the placenta of his newborn child. The assailant, identified as Vladimir Stoyanov, is a highly qualified geneticist who has previously practised in the UK, bTV reported . He has been detained for 72 hours and is charged with inflicting trivial bodily injury on a medical specialist who was acting in the line of duty. On conviction, Stoyanov faces between one and five years' imprisonment.

The victim, Dr Albena Gagova, was unconscious for more than 20 minutes after the attack. Her nose was broken and her upper lip was lacerated.

On Tuesday morning, the doctor's colleagues staged a token protest in front of the hospital against the violent aggression to which medical specialists are often subjected by patients' relatives.

Borissov told his ministers on Tuesday: "Think about a mechanism to protect doctors. Full support for whatever is necessary! And we want him [the assailant] to get a just sentence, because this, too, is prevention. In this, we do rely on the judicial system. In my opinion, prevention consists in a larger number of harsher sentences."

According to Health Minister Nikolay Petrov, the annual average number of assaults against medics exceeds 50, the press release says.