The Bulgarian Red Cross opens school for paramedics

published on 3/10/11 1:27 PM

Photo: BТА

Emergency medical services are one of the sectors in the Bulgarian healthcare system that needs urgent reforms. It is faced with both financial and organizational problems. The grim reality in most emergency units consists of outdated medical equipment, low wages, and lack of well-trained specialists. A light at the end of the tunnel has now appeared with the new strategy of the Healthcare Ministry for introducing reforms in emergency services in Bulgaria. The strategy is expected to be ready by early April when the training of paramedics will start in a newly opened school for emergency medical care. The new school is located in the village of Lozen, close to Bulgaria’s capital Sofia, and is part of the National Training Center at the Bulgarian Red Cross. The project is implemented with the financial and expert support of the German Red Cross, province Baden-Württemberg. “The reforms in emergency medical care in Bulgaria are long overdue. The model that we are now using is morally outdated. This model has been adopted in former Socialist countries where medics are obliged to be in the ambulance in case of emergency calls. However, the number of medics working in Bulgaria is decreasing at alarming rates. That is why it is very important to restore the profession of medical auxiliaries in Bulgaria and to introduce the new profession of paramedics”, says Doctor Nadezhda Todorovska, deputy director general of the Bulgarian Red Cross. More from her:

“Paramedics are healthcare professionals who are trained to react in emergencies and to perform life-saving first aid and following this help, an ambulance with a specialized doctor arrives and transports the patient to the nearest hospital. There are standards regulating the time of arrival and the quality of emergency units where the role of paramedics is crucial. This issue has been neglected for years in Bulgaria. The role of paramedics and medical auxiliaries has been heavily underestimated, as well for example the importance of having ambulance drivers who are trained to perform first aid actions. This outdated approach hinders the functioning of the system and that is why both medics and patients are discontented with the current situation”, doctor Nadezhda Todorovska says.

The German Red Cross has donated an ambulance, medical equipment and learning materials to the new school for training paramedics in Bulgaria. 18 Bulgarian physicians have already been trained to become instructors there. The training of paramedics generally encompasses three levels of difficulty and period of studying. The first two levels train ambulance drivers and general health officers. However, to complete the third level and the title of professional paramedic, one needs to go over a two-year training course with a much more serious curriculum. For this purpose, the Bulgarian Red Cross has singed agreements with the Sofia-based Pirogov Institute for Emergency Medical Help in Sofia, the Military Medical Academy, and Tokuda Hospital, where the practical training will be carried out with those trainees who have successfully completed the theoretical course in the School for Paramedics in Lozen.

Translated by: Rossitsa Petcova

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The Bulgarian Red Cross opens school for paramedics

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