Inspections by Authorities in Elderly Care Homes Continue across the Country

Authorities have begun relocating elderly residents from unlicensed care homes in Varna after inspections revealed appalling living conditions, including malnutrition, poor hygiene, and lack of medical care. So far, four elderly individuals have been transferred to the municipal home “Gergana” in Varna, while 47 others have been moved to other licensed social institutions. The relocation process is ongoing.

Similar actions have already been taken at homes in the villages of Yagoda and Govedartsi, where elderly residents were found in distressing states. In Yagoda, 11 residents were hospitalized in the University Hospital in Stara Zagora—dehydrated, malnourished, and unwashed. Two women required partial foot amputations due to severe infections that could have been prevented with timely medical attention.

Deputy Mayor of Varna, Snezha Apostolova, urged families to ensure that facilities where they place elderly relatives have proper licensing from the Agency for Quality in Social Services. She clarified that the three companies recently under scrutiny claimed to be registered as accommodation providers, yet had no legal registration with the municipality.

One of the affected families, represented by Zoya Georgieva, described deeply concerning practices at a Varna-area facility where her grandmother died just six months after being admitted in 2021. She described residents looking drugged and extremely thin, lack of transparency, and being denied visits and phone communication.

"I don’t know what the conditions were like inside, nor do I know how the residents were being fed, but I saw elderly people who were extremely thin, walking around the yard looking as if they were sedated. I never actually entered the facility or the building itself — the closest I ever got was to the fence. Visitations were also prohibited. It was extremely difficult to see or even speak with my grandmother on the phone. Every time I tried to contact her, I was told she was either having lunch or the place was being cleaned," shared Zoya Georgieva.

The Municipality of Varna will assist in relocating the elderly residents from the inspected homes to other social care facilities.

“When placing their relatives, these services should have the appropriate license from the Agency for Quality of Social Services, as this ensures good quality care at the proper level. Regarding the three companies that were inspected in the past day, even in the last few hours, it was mentioned that they have registration as accommodation providers, but in the Municipality of Varna, they are not registered as such,” said Snezhana Apostolova, Deputy Mayor of Varna Municipality.

The eleven elderly residents from the care home in the village of Yagoda, who were admitted to the university hospital in Stara Zagora, are currently in stable condition. Upon admission, they were found to be dehydrated, malnourished, and unwashed. Two women required partial foot amputations.

“These were severe infections that, with timely diagnosis and adequate treatment, would not have progressed to the point of requiring amputation — and certainly not of a part of the foot,” commented Prof. Yovcho Yovchev, Director of the University Hospital in Stara Zagora.

The so-called “houses of horror” for the elderly were already inspected and fined by the National Revenue Agency (NRA) as far back as 2013. This was confirmed by Rumen Spetsov, Executive Director of the NRA, during a morning broadcast on BNT in connection with the recent revelations in Varna and Yagoda. He stated that at the various locations, workers were insured in ways that violated labor laws.

“Some of these facilities were inspected by the NRA back in 2013. Fines were imposed, and warnings were issued, but as we can see, no corrective actions were taken by the time of the latest inspections. The same violations were observed — improper accounting of revenue, failure to register contracts, or complete lack of them, including rental agreements. These were again rented rooms, not licensed hospices. The conditions were truly appalling. At the time, financial penalties were imposed, though I cannot specify the exact amounts,” said Spetsov.

Inspections by the NRA, police, and social services in residential homes for the elderly will continue in the coming days at other locations across the country.