"The first medical helicopters are arriving in Bulgaria earlier than expected", announced the Acting Minister of Health, Dr. Asen Medzhidiev on the National Television. He specified that the procedure for leasing helicopters has already ended and was won by the Italian company, which offered a better price.

"Certainly at the end of this month or the beginning of next month, we will have two helicopters that will launch and the air support will begin. I wish the colleague who will come after me to finish this - very little left - the sites to be completed. There is very little left and in reality our population will have emergency assistance by air," stated Medzhidiev.

Our country will use helicopters on lease until it gets its own. It is expected that the first purchased helicopter will be delivered to our country in December, and next year we will receive two more.

Asen Medzhidiev stated that he has very good impressions of his likely successor to the post - Prof. Hristo Hinkov, and that he is convinced that he will continue what he started for the construction of a children's hospital, emergency air assistance and the reform of the Territorial Expert Medical Commissions (TELK).

However, he pointed out that he was offended by the claims that the caretaker government was pursuing pro-Russian interests.

"It was a little insulting to me - I never had pro-Russian interests to comment that our cabinet has pro-Russian interests. Never! I have only defended the interests of Bulgaria. And my president has always stood and insisted on this. It is absurd the formula 'everyone against Radev and the caretaker government'. Such a stigma cannot remain! I took office with the idea that I would work no more than 2-3 months and then return to my patients. It was like that for each of us, but we had to stay longer, which was hard for everyone. The easy thing was that we worked as a team. I'm proud that we did something and I wish that the initiatives we started will continue. I'm at the back ready to help the new Minister of Health, whoever he/she is," Medzhidiev said.

Medzhidiev also said that about 1.4 million doses of vaccines are about to be destroyed and defined the reduction of the ordered doses agreed with the EC as a success of the caretaker government. According to him, the problem is that quantities of vaccines were claimed for Bulgaria, which were much more than necessary.

"From now on, the state's obligation to pay for vaccines and to destroy them is no longer in effect. We saved 188 million Leva for the state, and last year - another 111 million. This money is more than what is needed to build a children's hospital. At the moment, no vaccines enter Bulgaria. However, the possibility remains, if necessary, for Bulgaria to order new doses to be paid for when they are delivered," he said.

Medzhidiev also commented on the problem with the work of the Children's Clinic at the National Cardiology Hospital, whose resuscitation is at 50% of its capacity due to a lack of nurses.

He called for children's healthcare to remain the focus of the next leadership of the Ministry of Health and pointed out that if the clinical pathways for these activities are increased, staff can be attracted.

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