site.btaNew Labs Significantly Cuts Short Time for Drivers' Blood Tests

In newly established centres for laboratory analysis of blood samples for drugs, blood results will be ready in 1 to 2 weeks, said Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov during Friday‘s Question Time in the National Assembly.

„The delay in blood results of drug samples is one of the problems we caught entering as a regular Government,“ Denkov noted. „On the one hand, a proper system was put in place before us that allows field tests to be used to see if there is a potential problem, but that then has to be checked with the much more accurate blood tests,“ the Prime Minister said. „With regard to alcohol, existing equipment and procedures allowed for a clear result within up to a few days. Whereas with regard to narcotics, it turned out that there was a lack of equipment, a lack of organization and hence there were delays in samples of 6, 9, 12 months,“ Denkov explained.

The problem was exacerbated by a change in the penal code that allowed for the impounding of vehicles for drug and alcohol use, he added. „This was one of the tasks we set ourselves - to find a quick solution,“ Denkov pointed out. He said it turned out that three things could be done - to improve the organization at the existing centres, to allocate funds so that the laboratories that do these tests are not at a loss and to make public procurements which has already been done.

He said some discussion was needed on what machines to purchase and where to deploy them because six months ago it appeared that the actions taken on the issue were heading in a wrong direction. Denkov added that such discussions with MPs already took place and led to improvement of the situation.

Later on Friday, Denkov, Deputy Prime Minister Mariya Gabriel and Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov presented an automated system for laboratory analysis of blood samples for the presence of drugs at Interior Ministry‘s Research Institute of Forensic Science and Criminology.