We remind you that on 02.09 a meeting was held between the Public Council for the National Children's Hospital and the Minister of Health Silvi Kirilov. The meeting was also attended by Deputy Minister Dobromira Kareva and the acting director of the Health Investment Company (ZIKDB) Desislava Malinova.
The meeting was initiated by the Council after an unofficial report containing worrying proposals for changes in the structure of the future National Children's Hospital appeared in the public domain in August.
What did we hear at the meeting?
We received assurances from the leadership of the Ministry of Health, including Minister Silvi Kirilov and Deputy Minister Dobromira Kareva, that the report in question is not official, has not been approved by any of them, and should not be accepted as part of the real plans for the development of the hospital.
The Minister has committed to preparing a plan for holding meetings with the children's clinics in Sofia, which will in the future be part of the new hospital. These meetings are extremely important for two reasons. First, due to the uncertainties surrounding the transfer process. And second, in connection with the need for the specialists working in them to be timely and correctly informed.
What didn't we get an answer to?
Again, the issue of the so-called non-pediatric specialties, which however work with children, and have not been consulted so far, namely neonatology, ENT, ophthalmology and child psychiatry, was not discussed. For us, this remains a serious omission in the process of building the hospital.
The ZIKDB refused to discuss the process of creating the design brief with the Public Council. Access was denied with the argument that it could violate the principle of equality in the procedures under the Public Procurement Act. This deeply concerned us.
In response, today the Public Council held an extraordinary meeting, at which it decided that in an official letter to Minister Kirilov and Ms. Malinova, it would express its reasoned disagreement with the denial of access.
- The lack of access to key project information compromises the role of the Council and creates a risk of decisions being made without the necessary public scrutiny.
- The members of the Public Council are bound by a code of ethics and undertake clear obligations of confidentiality and impartiality.
- The Public Procurement Law explicitly allows the participation of external experts in the preparation of procedures, provided that there is no conflict of interest and the principles of transparency are observed. In this sense, transparency is not a threat to equality, but rather its strongest guarantor.
During the meeting on September 2, we asked Minister Kirilov why we have not had an official response to our request for more than a month to include in the Public Council architect Lyubomir Georgiev - a recognized expert in urban planning and public policies. In response, Minister Kirilov requested that it be sent to
Ministry of Health The CV of architect Georgiev.
Today it was officially sent to the Ministry's office.
We expect a quick response and hope for a real step forward, because the time for good intentions is over. Now is the time for good decisions.
Our position as the For Good Foundation
For us, the National Children's Hospital is a valuable choice. It is a vision for a new model of children's healthcare in Bulgaria, which is why we believe that the process should be as open as possible:
- All stakeholders, including clinics, doctors and patient organizations, must be heard;
- Every document and analysis that influences the final result must be public, reasoned, and expertly discussed;
We are categorical that there should be no compromises in either the quality of execution or project management, regardless of whether they are due to hasty decisions or attempts at "quiet replacement".
Thank you for your support and commitment. We continue to follow the process closely and push for a real children's hospital!
Photo: Yana Lozeva. The photo is part of the "The Hospital We Want" campaign, held in the spring of 2020.
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