2024-02-20 05:17:10
- Hristo Hinkov talks about competitions for heads of 10 hospitals that he launched and stopped with the word “pressure”. His press center clarified that he actually spoke with the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister and the three agreed that with shifts at such a time “there will be negative suggestions for tendentious appointments”.
When to schedule contests for hospital directors whose contracts are expiring? And should this be done by a minister who announced his resignation a few days ago?
A similar debate arose after a television appearance on Monday morning by Prof. Hristo Hinkov. In it, the Minister of Health explained why he first announced that shifts were starting in 10 large hospitals, and suddenly, two days later, canceled them.
Hinkov, who is in the government from the Democratic Bulgaria quota, gave the following explanation to bTV:
Most directors of state hospitals are not accidental people, I stopped competitions for the appointment of new ones under pressure – I was asked to do so by the Deputy Prime Minister Maria Gabriel and the Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov. Most likely, they want the next minister with another mandate and with other opportunities to hold these competitions.
The word pressure however, which made headlines after this TV appearance, has apparently embarrassed the health minister himself, who some time ago surprised even the prime minister by publicly requesting that he step down from the post after March 6.
A little later, the press center of the Ministry of Health set out to clarify what exactly Khinkov wanted to say:
(…) clearly and accurately stated that he had held talks with the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister in connection with the announced competitions for directors of medical institutions. All three have united around the reason that their holding at this moment could be loaded with negative suggestions for tendentious appointed in view of the minister’s decision to vacate the post (…).
This is how the idea was reached that the competitions should be phased, not with short deadlines for submitting documents, in order to find the best directors of hospitals.
Unofficially, the Council of Ministers expressed surprise at the message released by the press center of the Ministry of Health, as Nikolay Denkov personally commented on the case hours before it. The prime minister was adamant that there was no pressure, but only shared his arguments as to whether it was appropriate for a minister to change personnel on departure.
I didn’t forbid him. Decisions are within his powers, Denkov explained to journalists two hours after Prof. Hinkov’s TV appearance.
On January 19, 2024, late in the evening on the website of the Ministry of Health, the orders for competitions in the capital “Pirogov”, ISUL, the infectious disease hospital “Prof. Ivan Kirov”, pediatrics “Prof. Ivan Mitev”, the National Cardiology Hospital, “Sveti Naum” Medical Center, Specialized Rehabilitation Hospitals, the National Hospital for Physical Therapy, as well as the largest health facility in Plovdiv – “Sveti Georgi” and the Pleven “Georgi Stranski”.
On January 19, Prof. Hinkov’s team set the shortest possible deadline for submitting documents according to the law – 15 days. This happens literally hours after the minister announced that he will resign from the post.
When a minister has already said he is leaving, the question is whether he should solve personnel problems. That was the question you asked yourself then, Denkov, he himself said. And when a minister wants to develop a system, it is natural that part of its development is related to the personnel with whom he will work, the prime minister is convinced.