Hospital in Kyustendil Closes Three Wards

Three wards in the General Hospital in the South Bulgarian city of Kyustendil will close down, the director of the medical institution Dr Alexander Velichkov, said on 2^nd of March. From this year, the ear, skin and the physiotherapy wards will halt admission of patients.

The reasons for closing down their business are several. The hospital is not in very good financial position because it has receivables to the amount of over BGN 660 000 from the past 3 years which the hospital has not received from the Health Fund. Prices of clinical paths are too low, they have not been raised for ten years, Dr. Velichkov said.

Another reason for cutting the services of the wards is that the number of patients is diminishing due to demographic processes in the region. The hospital will also make medical staff redundant. The optimisation of the structure will not negatively affect the patients, Dr. Velichkov assured. If patients need to be examined by an ear or a skin specialist, they will be referred for consultation at an outpatient department of the hospital.