The Health Ministry and the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC) signed a cooperation agreement aimed at better protecting the rights and improving the quality of care for people in the most vulnerable situations, the ministry said on Facebook on Friday. The agreement covers the care of children and of patients in state psychiatric hospitals, with the aim of improving conditions, treatment and the possibilities for social integration.
BHC experts will carry out regular visits to medical establishments according to a schedule agreed with the Health Ministry. During the visits they will monitor compliance with patients’ rights, the quality of care and the conditions in which they live and are treated. Based on these observations, reports and specific recommendations will be drawn up to support real improvements and sustainable change in the system.
The Health Ministry confirms its commitment to speeding up the reform of psychiatric care and the process of deinstitutionalizing child care, and it will also rely on the expert capacity of the civil sector.
At the beginning of the month, caretaker Health Minister Michail Okoliyski told BHC representatives that the ministry’s efforts are focused on safeguarding the investment for the modernization of psychiatric care under the Recovery and Resilience Plan. “We must deal with serious challenges in order not to lose these funds,” he added.
/TM/