site.btaBulgaria’s Emergency Care to Utilize Five More Ambulances

Five ambulances under a project to modernize emergency care are expected to be delivered on Friday, Deputy Minister of Health Prof. Ilko Getov told journalists. He participated in the closing event of the project "Support for the development of the emergency medical care system", financed under the Operational Programme "Regions in Growth" 2014-2020, co-financed by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund. The deadline of the project has been extended until the middle of next year, Getov said. The project is to be completed by the end of the next programming period. Under the project, 400 ambulances are to be bought and another 35 ambulances are to be provided by the end of the term, he added.

The large investment project is being implemented by the Ministry of Health, as a specific beneficiary of the operational programme. The main objective of the project is to provide adequate and efficient health infrastructure that will contribute to improving the quality and safety of medical care in the country, as well as ensuring equitable and timely access to quality medical care for emergency conditions.

The cost of the project is nearly BGN 164 million, of which about 120 million has been spent. Despite the extension of the project, nearly BGN 45 million will remain unspent, which means that Bulgaria will have to return it to the European Commission, Getov pointed out. The government approved BGN 45 million, which provides the national funding to complete the project by the middle of next year and achieve all the indicators set in it. The aim is to complete the project completely because if we fail, our country has to return the entire amount of BGN 163 million, Getov explained.

“The implementation of the project was not quite easy and we have the permission of the European Commission and the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works to continue its implementation until 2024,” said Mariana Vassileva, project manager. In her words, despite all the criticism, the level of implementation of the project is extremely good. There are three components of the project, one of which aims to improve the infrastructure of 169 emergency care units, 27 emergency care centres and 33 emergency departments in state hospitals. The second component aims at upgrading facilities in 237 sites and is implemented through the procurement of specialized medical equipment and medical furniture. The third component involves the provision of 400 ambulances, the last 35 of which are yet to be procured, Vassileva said.