site.btaHelipad for Air Ambulances Unveiled in Veliko Tarnovo

A helipad for air ambulances was unveiled at the hospital in Veliko Tarnovo on Monday. Hospital Executive Director Daniel Iliev thanked all those present at the opening and stated that with the construction of the site, as well as the construction of the new emergency department in Veliko Tarnovo, a hub of emergency medicine has been created, which will assure greater safety for patients. 

Deputy Transport Minister Anna Mikhneva Natova and Deputy Health Minister Petko Stefanovski were on site for the opening, as well as Dr Kostadin Angelov, Chair of the parliamentary Committee on Health, and Veliko Tarnovo Mayor Daniel Panov.

Natova said that the six pilots who will fly the air ambulance are in the final stages of the training process, adding that by the end of the month they will have completed their training, and the helicopter will be fully operational from the beginning of May. In addition, by the end of the year, the second medical helicopter planned for Bulgaria's air medical assistance programme will arrive in the country, Natova stated.

Dimcho Dobrev, Executive Director of Bulgaria Heli Med Service, said that the training is conducted according to the requirements of the European regulation and is based on a programme approved by the Civil Aviation Administration General Directorate.

The helipad at the Veliko Tarnovo hospital was in operation until the 1990s. For its restoration, the Ministry of Health provided nearly BGN 120,000 in funding. There are six more medical facilities with helipads in the country, three of which in Sofia, and one each in Ruse, Panagyurishte and Varna.