site.btaPM Glavchev: Construction of National Paediatric Hospital to Start in June 2025
Caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev Saturday said the construction of a National Paediatric Hospital would start in June 2025. The point is that a 40-year delay will be dealt with in four years, he said, referring to the deadline for the hospital's completion.
Glavchev told a briefing that the hospital will have 26 wards with about 400 beds and will provide comprehensive care. The construction site in Sofia's Gorna Banya residential district will be cleared of the debris of a demolished building by mid-November.
Health Minister Galya Kondeva said the future hospital is planned to include child psychiatry, a genetic laboratory, nuclear medicine and physiotherapy and rehabilitation, in addition to the classical wards.
Doctors and nurses can apply for specialization courses under a project worth BGN 15 million, which is expected to eliminate staff shortages. Some 100 candidates have already applied. Paediatric specialties are the project's top priority.
Kondeva believes the future paediatric hospital should have a special status.
Dr Vlatko Gligorov, Executive Director of the Children's Hospital Healthcare Investment Company, said invitations to tenders would be published after mid-January. He recalled that BGN 100 million in state funding was already available but did not specify how much the project would cost. Inflation will be factored in when preparing the preliminary design documentation.
The status of the hospital will be discussed when the project is in its final phase, Gligorov said, stressing that the right to free child healthcare would be the guiding principle.
Nadezhda Rangelova, member of the National Paediatric Hospital Public Council, said the drawing up of a financial and economic analysis was one of the key steps ahead because it would answer questions about the status of the hospital and the remuneration of doctors and nurses.
/DD/
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