[ad_1]
© Diary
Still image of the video broadcast on Boyko Borissov’s Facebook profile
In an extraordinary meeting, the government voted to allocate another 81 million BGN to ensure greater efficiency of the health system amid the COVID crisis, after the sharp increase in infected in recent weeks has caused suffocation from hospitals. At the meeting, which took place online again due to his quarantine, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov declared that there were sufficient funds to deal with the medical consequences of the coronavirus, and urged ministers to work “at full capacity.”
The planned subsidies were announced yesterday by the Minister of Health, Kostadin Angelov, who clarified that the measures are part of the government’s action plan in the context of the coronavirus pandemic and that this is a step to reach an average of 300 infected for every 100,000 people. Yesterday, the authorities announced that the entire country is already in the so-called red zone (with more than 120 patients per 100,000 inhabitants with accumulation of the last 14 days). In his Facebook account, the prime minister stressed that the money “was made thanks to the successful fight against smuggling and crime.”
Grants for Hospitals Treating COVID
The government allocated an additional 65 million BGN from the state budget for treatment and diagnosis in November and December. They will go for:
– subsidize hospitals that have reserved more than half of their beds for COVID-19 patients (up to BGN 50 million)
– purchase of antigen tests (up to BGN 15 million).
The tests will be sent to regional health inspectorates and used to screen people with symptoms who have come to be examined at the newly opened van-type checkpoints in large hospitals, specified in the message of the Facebook profile of the Prime Minister.
Antigen tests are significantly faster and cheaper than the PCR tests currently used and, according to experts, their reliability is 94% to 96%. It is not yet known if the authorities will officially accept the results and if they will include them in the statistics for the investigation in Bulgaria. Until now, the only data that is recognized in Bulgaria are those of PCR tests, which serve as the basis for quarantine and the issuance of sick leave in absence of work.
BGN 1,000 per month also for GPs
In addition to the operating reserve of the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), BGN 10 million will be allocated to finance the activities of GPs in the next two months, Borissov announced. According to him, this will provide 1,000 BGN per month to each general practitioner to monitor the condition of COVID-19 patients. The aim is to motivate general practitioners in this way to monitor, prescribe therapies and follow up on the health of citizens, the government press service said. According to data from the National Institute of Statistics as of December 31, 2019 in Bulgaria there are 4119 general practitioners.
General practitioners have been insisting for months on being part of the doctors who receive additional remuneration for working on the risky front line of coronavirus control. However, so far they have not agreed with the authorities.
According to the government press service, general practitioners will reflect the status of patients on the COVID system on a daily basis and will inform them in a visit or by phone what steps to take to treat them. “Referrals for tests will be designated electronically. General practitioners may request rapid antigen tests for the timely diagnosis of patients in the presence of certain symptoms, which will be discussed during negotiations for the signing of an annex to the National Framework Agreement”, said. it says in a statement to the government press service. The possibility of GPs giving referrals for a test has been discussed since October. The authorities have assured that the measure will take effect at the beginning of November, but the negotiations have not yet been completed and it is unknown when it will happen.
6 million BGN have been earmarked for the COVID areas announced yesterday in the diagnostic and consultation centers of Sofia and the big cities. The former polyclinics are expected to have teams of a doctor, a nurse, two laboratory assistants for diagnostic imaging and diagnostic tests, a nurse, and a technician. There should be exams, coronavirus tests, blood tests and, if necessary, X-rays. Those working in the zones will also receive 1,000 BGN in their salaries. Separately for each patient, the team will receive 10 BGN for examination and diagnosis. Patients who need hospital treatment will be transferred from the emergency room to the hospital and the rest will remain in home treatment under the direction of the GPs.
What to do
“We are strengthening the full potential of the health system against coronavirus,” the prime minister was quoted as saying by the government press service. The statement also said that Borisov had assured that the money had been secured and ordered his ministers: “Work at full capacity.”
In the video of the meeting sent to the media, Borisov also gave instructions on “what should be done”:
“The first group are those who have not found the virus; the rules of the masks and distance apply to them. They work, they should not be prevented from working. The second group are those who cut us off, we must be 100 percent prepared so that anyone who gets worse is going to be treated according to a medical protocol … We have to include family doctors to work so that there is someone who follows our medical protocol at home.
