Sofia, August 25, 2020
"Today in the State Gazette the Health Mediators Policy was published by the Ministry of Health. We have come a long and difficult way to this day. Health mediators are already regulated in the Health Law and this Policy. Thanks to everyone who contributed to making this happen. The mission is possible! ” wrote Prof. Ivaylo Tarnev, member of the Management Board of the National Network of Health Mediators (NMHM). BFPA is one of the three organizations, together with EMHPF and OSI, which laid the foundations of health mediation in Bulgaria, as we have been supporting the process for almost 20 years, training mediators and working together in the field in various projects. Representatives of our organization were part of the working group at the Ministry of Health to create the Policy”
The Health Mediators Policy is a by-law arising from the renewed Health Act, where health mediators are officially mentioned. It affirms this profession and guarantees the principles of professionalism in their selection, training and overall work. The adoption of the policy creates conditions for sustainable development of the profession for the benefit of the communities and the whole society, as well as a barrier to the unprincipled appointments and arbitrary dismissals of mediators in the municipalities. It defines their tasks as supporting the activities of municipalities in implementing policies in the field of health prevention among the population and doctors in and on the occasion of the provided medical care.
The idea of creating a clear regulation for the work of mediators dates back many years, and is now being fully implemented. Looking back in time, this long and difficult path began in 2001, when the first mediators worked in non-governmental programs, and went through the establishment of the profession as a state policy, to reach 2019, when the figure of the health mediator was included in the Health Act. According to the ordinance, a competition must be announced by order of the mayor of the respective municipality, a commission must be elected and people must be selected for training in an effective way. They then study at the Faculty of Public Health at the Medical University in Sofia, take an exam and finally receive a certificate. Different upgrading trainingя are also provided.
Mediators were very helpful with their work during the measles epidemic in 2009-2010, as well as in the Corona virus epidemic now. Each year the number of mediators increases by 15, and this number is far from being enough. In 2019, 70 municipalities applied for these 15 positions. Now we have 260 mediators in 138 municipalities. As a state-delegated activity, the financing of mediators provides the minimum wage for them, and the volume of their work is constantly increasing. The disadvantage of the ordinance is that about 50% of the activity of mediators is purely social and non-medical in nature, but extremely important, and is not regulated by the Ordinance, which describes only the "health" part of the job description of mediators. It is important to achieve coordination between the MoH and the MLSP in order to supplement and unify the profile of the profession.
Link to the document (in BG)
