Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Hospitals hide empty beds to avoid admitting stroke patients 

50 000 people suffer stroke every year

Assoc. Prof. Rosen Kalpachki
Photo: Ani Petrova

Bulgaria ranks first in the European Union in terms of stroke mortality, says Assoc. Prof. Rosen Kalpachki, head of the largest specialised centre for the treatment of the disease at the capital's St. Anna University Hospital. According to him, about 50 thousand people suffer from stroke every year.

It is necessary to create a register of stroke patients in order to control which hospitals provide modern treatment and to follow up people after the acute phase of the disease, Assoc. Prof. Rosen Kalpachki told BNR. 

He added that at least one to two out of ten people who suffer an acute stroke die in the first few days and confirmed that there is a problem of hiding empty beds to prevent such patients from being admitted. However, according to him, this happens mainly in Sofia. 

"The fact is that especially in the off-hours - in the afternoon, after Friday noon, until Sunday, on holidays - stroke patients are admitted to a maximum of 3 hospitals in Sofia. This is not fair because it puts a strain on these teams, it puts a strain on the ability to provide adequate care and it rather distorts people's perception that they can actually be treated in a European capital in a European way in the 21st century".



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Presidential Administration will not use cars of the National Service for Protection

The cars of the National Service for Protection will no longer be at the disposal of the administration of the presidential institution, the MPs have decided, BNR reporter Daniel Inkov informed. This does not apply to the cars used..

published on 10/3/25 4:21 PM

Bulgaria and North Macedonia sign agreement on cross-border railway tunnel

The Council of Ministers approved amendments to the Agreement between Bulgaria and North Macedonia on the preparation, construction and operation of a cross-border railway tunnel. “Following correspondence, notes were received from..

published on 10/3/25 3:40 PM

UPDATE Flood in Elenite resort claimed three victims

Bulgaria was hit by severe weather on Friday, with snow in the western parts and torrential rain in the East, the Bulgarian News agency BTA  reported.  Three men, including two rescuers died in a coastal resort after heavy rainfall..

published on 10/3/25 2:20 PM