Providing adequate treatment to Bulgarians living outside the big cities has been a challenge in recent years. Although people increasingly need healthcare, especially in the industrial areas in Stara Zagora district, where a large part of the population is employed at Maritsa East-2 Thermal Power Plant and Maritsa East Mines, short-sighted policies have led to the bankruptcy of one of the large hospitals – the hospital in the town of Radnevo. It has accumulated more than EUR 500,000 of labilities, although the Municipality of Radnevo paid a total of EUR 1.5 million in the past 4 years. The hospital’s building and equipment are in a very poor condition and the population of Radnevo was left without specialized medical care. 

There is some light at the end of the tunnel at the end of the year. Despite the difficult situation, a person, who wants to invest money and experience to bring this Bulgarian hospital back to life, has appeared. The regional media have announced that entrepreneur Ibryam Aliev from the town of Sliven has recently become an owner of the hospital. What is more important, he is planning to open the hospital in February or March next year and resume admission of patients, first in the neurology and internal medicine ward. In his view, this rescue operation is late. It will be very difficult to find medical specialists and doctors, as many of them have already left Radnevo in search of a new job. Ibryam Aliev relies mainly on his experience in the management of large hospitals in Sliven, Plovdiv and Yambol.

“We have already developed the medical center and hired several doctors. We have opened a pulmonology, physiotherapy and a clinical laboratory. However, it is still early to talk about opening the hospital. All municipal and state hospitals have old facilities and equipment, which must be renewed. The current politicians must think about opening new hospitals according to people’s needs. I have not given any commission to anyone and I have faced a lot of impediments and difficulties. Bulgarian investors cannot cope with the administrative impediments. Not to mention the foreign investors. This is the main problem and we must solve it quickly, because time flies.”

Ibryam Aliev wonders why certain hospitals, medical centers or polyclinics have been receiving taxpayers money, but a private investor in healthcare is not entitled to such an assistance. Paradoxically, being a taxpayer, the entrepreneur also contributes to the financial aid allocated to his competitor- the state-owned hospital. In his words, the hospital in Radnevo is an eloquent example of unlawful spending:

“For instance, the hospital’s safe, which kept only EUR 34, was guarded until its bankruptcy which coast the hospital EUR 1,500 for 6 months. I hope that the new government will open a call for project proposals and that we will be able to participate, in order to restore the hospital at least partially. Bulgarians deserve to live a better life and receive better services in a new and renovated hospital. This hospital needs better sanitary facilities, sanitation products, etc”.

English version: Kostadin Atanasov