Salaries in Bulgaria's Emergency Care Sector to Go Up by 20% as of Jan 2015

Salaries in the emergency healthcare sector will increase by 20% as of January 2015, according to Deputy Health Minister Vanyo Sharkov.

In a Tuesday interview for Nova TV he made clear that the aim was to introduce 20% pay hikes on an annual basis until a 100% increase is achieved in 2020.

Sharkov, as cited by investor.bg, underscored that as of the beginning of 2015 there was no doctor in the system whose starting salary was less than BGN 1000.

He reminded that salaries in the emergency medical care sector had been increased by over 20% as of the beginning of 2015.

He also boasted that the authorities had managed to reverse a negative trend thanks to the pay rise and now there were more people entering the system than leaving it.

Asked to comment on the newly released report of the National Audit Office, which revealed that over 200 000 Bulgarians had no access to emergency medical service within 20 minutes, he said that there was nothing surprising about it.

Sharkov declared that the critical remarks and conclusions stated in the report had triggered the measures which were being implemented in the sector.

He also vowed a new map that would divide the country into regions, depending on the accessibility for ambulances.

Sharkov, as cited by the Bulgarian National Television, said that the map was to be ready by end-November.

He explained that the areas that were most difficult to access would be marked red, including regions in the Rhodope Mountains, Blagoevgrad district, and the northeastern Ludogiorie region.