Gaydarski (standing) is meeting with with the representatives of the Pirogov staff on Wednesday afternoon, with doctors threatening to go on effective strike next week. Photo by Kameliya Atanasova (Sofia Photo Agency)
On-strike doctors and nurses at Sofia's Pirogov emergency hospital and the hospital's board reached agreement on Wednesday to present a united front on the doctors' demands ahead of crunch talks with healthcare minister Radoslav Gaydarski.
The board will back the 2.000-strong medical staff, 90% of which have already signed a petition that threatens an effective strike if their demands are not satisfied. The doctors are due to meet with Gaydarski later in the day.
The striking doctors want higher salaries, new equipment and a change in the status of the hospital, which would allow it to receive state subsidies.
Pirogov is Sofia's main emergency hospital and the biggest in Bulgaria, and is the main destination for patients in critical condition from the entire country.
"It is not my job to figure out where the money comes from, I am a doctor. But we have earned this money with our round-the-clock work and the difficult cases we receive," Pirogov trade union representative Krastyu Penchev said.
"This time we will not back down on our demands. We want to hear concrete figures and concrete deadlines," Penchev said.
Bulgaria's lawmakers would have to amend the existing legislation to allow the ministry to directly subsidize the hospital, assuming that Gaydarski changes his uncompromising position towards the on-strike medics.