Bulgaria Midwife Who Wounded Baby Regularly Worked 24 Hours On Duty

Society » HEALTH | May 1, 2015, Friday // 16:30
Bulgaria: Bulgaria Midwife Who Wounded Baby Regularly Worked 24 Hours On Duty Photo by BGNES

Emiliya Kovacheva, a midwife who beat a 4-day-old baby, regularly worked 24 hours on duty without a break, according to a preliminary report of Bulgaria’s Executive Agency „Medical Audit“ (EAMA).

The inspection uncovered serious violations in the treatment of the baby, flaws in the structure and management of the Sofiamed hospital and in the standards applied at its neonatology unit, as well as labor law infringements, according to reports of private TV station bTV.

The staff of midwives and doctors at the neonatology department was kept at the bare minimum and Kovacheva had to cope with a work overload, according to the Director of the EAMA Zlatitsa Petrova.

Since the beginning of 2015, Kovacheva worked at least 240 hours per month against the statutory limit of 160 hours, according to the EAMA.

She worked 24 hours on duty six or seven times a month and had 8-hour shifts, according to the report.

The report contradicts the allegations of Sofiamed.

Representatives of the hospital announced at an extraordinary press conference several days ago that Kovacheva had only done two 24-hour duties since the beginning of the year at her own request.

The hospital refused to comment on the new findings, stressing that they had not yet received a protocol from the inspection, according to bTV.

On Thursday the Sofia Appellate Court ruled that Kovacheva was to remain under arrest.

According to CCTV footage from the hospital and later to her own confessions, Kovacheva hit the child on the head and clutched at its neck while on a night shift at Sofiamed hospital in the early hours of April 18.

She is charged with attempted murder, though her defense insists she should be tried for inflicting grievous bodily harm instead. The midwife is facing a sentence of 15 to 20 years behind bars if found guilty.

Kovacheva, who admits to having hit the baby but has pleaded not guilty, was on a 24-hours shift.

Doctors at the Tokuda hospital, to which the newborn was moved after reports of the incident emerged, announced that the baby was recovering from its injuries, but also that the damage caused by Kovacheva had not led to any impairment.

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Tags: Sofiamed, midwife, labor law, Executive Agency Medical Audit, hospital, Tokuda Hospital

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