There is no chaos in the health-care system, the Minister of Health Kostadin Angelov has repeatedly said. Authorities say the necessary organization is being created to allow hospitals to treat more serious cases, but patients en masse alarm about problems. The most common complaints include difficult connection with GPs, the feeling of a vicious circle as a result of quarantine and the need of tests and adequate treatment.

"Two weeks of pure nightmare" - this is how a Bulgarian teacher describes her encounter with Covid-19. Spouses Maria and Vladimir from Plovdiv fell ill on two consecutive days. Before her husband's PCR test and the quarantine at their home, Maria went to X-ray that showed nothing to worry about. But the woman had severe headaches and pain in the eyeballs. A call to the GP followed and advice to take an antibiotic. "I bought it from the pharmacy without a prescription because the doctor doesn't let anyone into her office," the woman says.

Staying at home as a patient’s contact person, Maria started experiencing other symptom of coronavirus infection: "On the second or third day I started suffocating and I literally could not breathe," she said in an interview with BNR-Plovdiv. Her GP prescribed a second strong antibiotic over the phone and when she experienced severe stomach pain, she had to call emergency.

"They simply told me that there were no vacancies in hospitals; that there was nothing more they could do for me and that I should keep in touch with my GP.

The woman described the situation as a "vicious circle" and decided to stop taking antibiotics. In order to go to the doctor, the husband needed to drive her but at the same time they were subject to a fine for leaving home. A police officer advised her to call the Regional Health Inspectorate, but the line was either busy or no one picked up the phone.

Two weeks after the start of the illness and more than ten sleepless nights, the family from Plovdiv is already better, but the woman still feels very weak and is afraid to go back to school.

Views of the doctor and patient in this case differ.

"Actually, I do not think it is right, but in the current situation of pandemic, when there is no treatment and no articles about what exactly the virus is or what damage it causes, of course, it is acceptable,” said Dr. Slavka Chetelyazova about consultations and prescribing antibiotics on the phone. When it comes to quarantined patients, she added that they should call 112:

"There are emergency teams in protective clothing that are ready to measure oxygen saturation, to examine the patient, they can also do a quick test.

According to the family's other general practitioner, Dr. Marusya Ivanova, the media have no right to hold general practitioners accountable for their decisions. "I am restless because my work is too much - I also work in an outpatient clinic; I stay on the phone around the clock. Thank God, patients are satisfied and at the moment all the patients are in good condition.” According to her, the problems are many, but the biggest one is morbidity among medical staff, including GPs:

"No protection suits have been provided and GPs buy everything themselves. The problem is in poor upbringing and in the chaos that currently exists in our health-care system."

Editor: E. Karkalanova /based to interviews with BNR-Plovdiv/

English: Alexander Markov