site.bta Parents Urge Resignation of Leadership of Fund for Treatment of Children

Parents Urge Resignation of Leadership of Fund for Treatment of Children

Sofia, October 5 (BTA) - Parents of sick children on Wednesday called for the resignation of the leadership of the Fund for the Treatment of Children during a protest rally outside the Health Ministry.

They said the Fund delays the paperwork of their children, it replaces the decisions of the Public Council and the new regulations are hampering the work of the institution.

The parents were attending the rally together with their children. They were carrying slogans "Resignation".

The rules for the operation of the Fund go against the interests of the ill children and their families, members of the Public Council with Fund who decided to step down told a BTA-hosted news conference.

Krassimira Velichkova of the Bulgarian Donors' Forum , Nelly Logofetova of the National Associations of People with Diabetes and Dessislava Hourmouzova of "Save and Donate" presented data from meetings of the Fund's Public Council from April to September 2016 which show that from a total of 479 applications, 177 had just one opinion, five did not have any opinion and 30 were without offers and treatments costs.

All data from the Fund's meetings will be forwarded to Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, Deputy Prime Minister Roumyana Buchvarova and the Inspectorate with the Health Ministry. They said they were trying to show that the system was not working and that this was bad for the children.

The cited a case when a child had been twice approved by the Public Council but was ultimately refused treatment abroad. In a statement to the media, the Health Ministry denied the accusation.

The Health Ministry will do everything to keep the Fund working and won't allow children to be deprived of treatment abroad when it is unavailable here, Deputy Health Minister Vanyo Sharkov told journalists.

Sharkov told the parents that he will follow closely whether deadlines for submitting opinions are met. "I can assure you that the work of the Fund will be continuously improved," he said. He added that the papers will be corrected in the course of the meetings of the Public Council.  

Taking a question why applications with just one opinion are being considered, Sharkov said that the rules had been changed from September 2 in order to speed up the work of the Council in cases when there is an evaluation of a hospital board.

Sharkov said he had no data that decisions of the Public Council had been replaced and that the Fund's Director won't be replaced for the time being. He assured the parents that communication between the parents and the children will improve.