Community members established a civil initiative “Danaya for Life” for reforms in children’s health care – 2024-02-17 05:38:22

The “Danaya” Foundation, together with 67 influential public figures, founded a civil initiative for urgent reforms in the collapsed Bulgarian children’s health care.

“We are ending our resignation to sick health care, whose victims are children, parents, doctors and society as a whole,” the founders announced. Among them are doctors, lawyers, writers, artists, musicians, journalists, economists, athletes, bloggers, directors, scientists, university professors, teachers, ecologists, engineers, entrepreneurs.

In the next 3 months, the citizens’ initiative will collect signatures in support of 6 specific public demands with specific deadlines for implementation.

Bitter and angry assessments were often heard at the 3-hour founding meeting: “We have waited too long, so long that some of us have paid with our children’s lives. We have reached a tipping point. The institutions are gone. We have been waiting for decades for a national children’s hospital, but it will not change anything unless the broken system in which thousands of families are drowning. Children’s health is a priority of the government only in words, and its inaction is killing the future, turning parents into beggars, into emigrants or into grief-stricken and self-blaming mothers and fathers, fomenting hostility between parents and doctors, while both the rest of us are helpless victims of political impotence and corruption”.

The National Citizens’ Initiative was established in accordance with the Law on the Direct Participation of Citizens in State Power and Local Self-Government. It bears the symbolic name “Danaya for Life” in memory of all the children whose lives have been lost in the system. Child mortality in Bulgaria is one of the highest in the EU.

The petition calls for:

1. A digital information system for all children’s clinics in the country, which directs needy families in real time to the most suitable clinics and specialists according to the place of residence and the condition of the child.

2. A hotline with a single national number to report problems and support parents of child patients.

3. Introduction of Rules for good medical practice for all specialties. Reviewing and updating all medical protocols for working in emergency and urgent care. Broad public access to protocols on hospital websites and on the digital platform.

4. Introduction of a system for quality control of interhospital and intrahospital communication with traceability of decisions, actions and responsibilities.

5. Introduction of mandatory continuing medical education for all medical specialties, basically provided by every hospital.

6. Restructuring of the Executive Agency “Medical Supervision” into an independent state body protected against pressure, influence or omerta.

The purpose of these first emergency measures is to save life.

The requests will be submitted to the National Assembly, the Council of Ministers and the Ministry of Health, which within 3 months must respond with specific actions or publicly justify their refusal to initiate reforms.

The signature of the National Citizens’ Initiative will be collected only on paper. Its full text will be published this week on the website of the “Danaya” foundation danaya.bg and on the foundation’s Facebook page. From there or via e-mail [email protected] every like-minded person can receive a form together with instructions for filling it out. Subscription information will also be provided over the phone +359 890 111 375.

The list of the 67 founders of the initiative will also be published on the foundation’s website and Facebook page. Among them are Ani Stoyanova – mother of 15-year-old Danaya Kuleva, who died last year in “Pirogov”, children’s specialist in infectious diseases Assoc. Valery Velev, writer Zahari Karabashliev, actor Alexander Alexiev, pediatrician Assoc. Rada Markova, director Yana Titova, musician Vasil Gyurov, actress Boryana Bratoeva, lawyer Metodi Lalov, reporter Bobi Vaklinov, Prof. Desi Boshnakova, Krasimira Hadjiivanova, Maria Kasimova-Moase, Neli Georgieva, Vladimir Mihailov, Georgi Nenov, Dr. Geri Ivanova, Dr. Elena Georgieva, Dr. Stefan Kostov. Kremena Kuneva, co-founder of the “Danaya” foundation, was elected as the chairman of the initiative committee.