General practitioners (GPs) will stage protests across Bulgaria starting from Monday.

Protests will begin in the regions of Veliko Tarnovo, Yambol, Kyustendil and Razgrad, with other regions to follow suit in the coming days.

GPs will close their surgeries, but in each practice where a protest will be held, one medical crew will remain on duty to take care of people with acute need.

The chairperson of the Association of general practitioners in Bulgaria apologised to patients for the temporary inconvenience caused.

The protest is against the policies of the health ministry and the reforms proposed by Health Minsiter Petar Moskov.

GPs are discontent that the additional funding allocated to them has increased by only BGN 2 M in the past years, which amounts to BGN 33 monthly increase per GP.

Although an additional BGN 36 M have been allocated to healthcare outside the hospital, only BGN 2 M are directed towards GPs, with the rest assigned for examinations and consultations with specialists and dentists.

The Bulgarian Doctors' Union withdrew its support from the government and also announced the start of protests from the beginning of this week.

These protests will be against the state of the healthcare system, but the organisers are still to specify their location and activities.

They are calling on colleagues from different branches of medicine to stop work by closing the medical facilities, clinical laboratories and surgerires.

Doctors are against the proposed introduction of fingerprint identification in hospitals, which according to them would treat both patients and doctors as criminals.

They are also against the extension of the waiting time for planned operations which is foreseen by the second package of hospital care.

Municipal and private hospitals will also stage gradual protests, which are expected to spread across the country.

Emergency doctors have said that they will not protest.

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