site.btaLack of National Paediatric Hospital Among Major Concerns, Says Paediatric Association Chair

The lack of a National Paediatric Hospital is a major concern, Bulgarian Paediatric Association (BPA)Chairman Ivan Litvinenko told BTA on Thursday. He spoke at the start of the 16th National Congress of Paediatrics in Borovets, which will continue until September 22.

Litvinenko also chairs the Public Committee for the construction of a national paediatric hospital. "We have made significant progress. In recent years, developments have accelerated, and the process is now well underway. The site has been cleared, and the final touches on the hospital construction designs are complete," he said. He also said that political parties, the Council of Ministers, and the Ministry of Health already support the project.

Litvinenko spoke about other issues in medicine, including the lack of healthcare providers, particularly nurses. "They are a disappearing group," Litvinenko said. He stressed the need for effective actions to attract and increase staff numbers.

He said that BPA in particular faces several challenges. It serves as both a professional and a scientific-medical society for paediatrics, aligning with European scientific advancements. However, paediatric care in Bulgarian hospitals and clinics is lagging.

Despite this, BPA organizes more than ten regional or national conferences annually. At the BPA congress, leading specialists presented progress in the last three years. In neurology new treatments have emerged for epilepsy and significant advances have been made in treating spinal muscular atrophy, a severe disease that previously led to early childhood deaths but now has three effective treatment options with promising results.