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The Parliament wants the health minister to increase the number of nurses and midwives by at least 30% by 2030

by AI | 07.Aug 2024 | Europe in brief AI

The deficit of personnel is significant, the problem is not only Bulgarian but also European, it was noted during the debates.

Hospital "Dr. At. Dafovski" in Kardzhali Photo: Valentina Stoeva/BTA

SOFIA – The National Assembly unanimously adopted a decision requiring the Minister of Health to present to the parliament within two months a strategy to increase the number of nurses and midwives by 30 percent by 2030.

The decision states that the state budget should fund the training fees and scholarships for students in both specialties, and that the minimum salaries for nurses and midwives should be at least 90 percent of the national average (1123 euros for the first quarter of 2024 according to data from the National Statistical Institute), or no lower than the minimum stipulated in the Collective Labour Agreement in the “Healthcare” sector.

The rationale for the draft decision points out that the decline in the number of nurses over the last 30 years is more than 30,000 people, or 1,000 people per year.

Currently, there is a significant deficit in Bulgaria – for 100,000 people, an analysis by the World Health Organization from 2021 found 419 nurses missing. According to data from the Bulgarian Association of Healthcare Professionals, the actual shortage of nurses is around 30,000 people, with approximately 22,000 currently employed in hospital medical care.

The average age of nurses in Bulgaria is 53. On average, there are 710 nurses per 100,000 people in the European Union, while in Bulgaria this ratio is 370 per 100,000 citizens, the association of healthcare professionals stated recently at a forum in Sofia dedicated to the staffing issue.

During the debates in parliament, it was noted that the problem of nurse shortages is not only Bulgarian, but affects the whole of Europe. (07.08.2024)