Minister of Health: Big District Hospitals will Convert Sites to Accommodate Covid-19 Patients in Bulgaria

Due to the increased number of newly infected with coronavirus in Sofia, the Minister of Health and the directors of the medical establishments have decided to reorganize the whole process of providing hospital beds, the Minister of Health Kostadin Angelov said on November 4.

This is the so-called - fourth step, which has not been discussed so far, Angelov said. Entire medical institutions or specific structures in them will be reorganized.

By the end of the day, the Minister's order will be issued for the large medical institutions in Sofia, Plovdiv, Bourgas, Varna, Pleven - structures will be created in the big regional hospitals with about 200 beds for the needs of patients with coronavirus.

For Sofia, these hospitals are the “District Hospital”, “Sofiamed”, “Tokuda”, "Alexandrovska", "Pirogov", Military Medical Academy.

The top floors of the internal diseases wards will be closed in the District Hospital and Tokuda, and the number of intensive care beds will be increased.

Two clinics will be closed in “Alexandrovska” Hospital to be restructured. “Ivan Rilski” hospital will also be reorganized and an additional number of beds will be opened.

Extra beds will be opened in other hospitals.

Angelov assured that there is no shortage of beds in the hospitals in Sofia.

Minister Angelov also said that he received a signal about a restaurant in Students’ City which does not comply with the anti-epidemic measures. He again called on Bulgarians to be responsible.

"We are in a serious phase of the epidemic and if reason does not prevail, the numbers will be much higher," the minister said.

Today, the emergency medical care centres in Sofia, Plovdiv and Varna received 20 new equipped ambulances.

The vehicles were purchased in implementation of the project BG16RFOP001-4.001-0001 "Support for the development of the emergency medical care system", funded by the Operational Programme "Regions in Growth" 2014-2020.

The Minister of Health handed over the keys to the ambulances, specifying that 17 will go to the emergency unit in Sofia, 2 in Plovdiv and 1 in Varna.

They will greatly improve the logistics of patients from their homes to the logistics centres and emergency departments of medical institutions, the minister said.

So far, 220 vehicles have been delivered under the project, by the end of the year furher 40 will be delivered, which will be distributed to the places where there is the greatest need for ambulances./BNT