ISSUE No. 7/1999

Healthcare Strategy Of Stara Zagora Municipality

by Zlatina Naneva, Head of Public Health Department , Municipality of Stara Zagora

The "Healthcare Strategy" adopted by the Municipal Council of Stara Zagora at its session on 15 July 1999, aims to address the inevitable changes and to anticipate the future of health services provided by the municipality. The Strategy focuses on issues and problems, which are of crucial importance for the municipality and for the entire country. The main objective of the Strategy is to create conditions and prerequisites that will improve the health status and will increase the longevity of the population on the territory of the municipality.

The following main Priorities were identified:

1. improving public health;

2. optimizing the structure and funding of medical establishments;

3. increasing the proficiency of the medical and paramedical staff;

4. raising the status of the medical profession.

These main priorities rest on the following

Basic Principles

every citizen should have access to medical care according to his/her needs, together with equal opportunities for a healthy lifestyle;

investing in the public and private sectors for maintaining good health is a necessary requirement for a prosperous social and economic development.

Although simplified, the above-mentioned basic dimensions of the Strategy give an idea of the need for such a strategy and the scope of its implementation. The planned process must produce end results that meet the above-mentioned objectives. This is proved by the accomplishments, which were made within a period of less than one year.

What has been achieved so far:

1. In meeting the objective of improving public health:

a Working Group was set up for the main purpose of developing a Municipal Plan on "Environment and Health";

the implementation of a Program for reducing the concentration of harmful combustion gasses emitted by transport vehicles was launched; the Hygienic Inspection Institute (HII) carried out an analysis of the concentration of harmful combustion gasses emitted by transport vehicles in the proximity of crиches and kindergartens;

jointly with the Police Press Center, with NGOs and with the Municipal Health Administration (MHA), a Program for reducing road traffic traumas in children was launched;

improving the locomotion regime of children is one of the priority tasks of the Municipal Health Administration; the emphasis is laid on assisting the implementation of sports events, organizing sports training camps that are mainly financed by the Municipality, and strengthening the health surveillance of young sportsmen with a view to reducing traumas;

following a successful work with teachers, with the police and with NGOs, a number of workshops with students on the theme "Fighting drug abuses" were held; the Municipal Commission for combating anti-social activities of minors and adolescents is drafting Measures for homeless children, which cover preventive measures against parasitic diseases, sexually transmitted diseases, drug addiction, and re-integration of drug addicts in society;

The Municipality is member of the National Health Schools' Network. Five educational establishments, working jointly with the Treatment and Rehabilitation Center for Children at the Stara Zagora Mineral Spa resort, act as prevention centers for the protection and improving of the health of children;

using the financial assistance of the Municipality's Environmental Fund, waste treatment sites were built in all the 49 villages, as well as an incinerator in the yard of the hospital complex, which provides services to all medical establishments;

jointly with the Hygienic Inspection Institute, an Occupational Medicine Project is being implemented under the Phare Programme, which aims at improving labor conditions and preventing occupational diseases among workers;

the Municipal Health Administration, jointly with physicians employed at out-patient departments and with the Hygienic Inspection Institute, started implementing the first stage of the European Community's CINDY program for promoting a healthy way of life;

jointly with Roma NGOs, with the Family Planning Centre and with the Hygienic Inspection Institute, a Program for promoting the sexual and reproductive health of women was developed;

jointly with the Open Society Fund and with ADAPTA 21, activities are undertaken to assist families having children with deviating behavior;

the implementation is under way of multi-central studies of new medication programs at the Cancer Out-Patient Department, jointly with the European Community Member States;

following the MHA's active media policy, a Health Information Center will start operating in the foyer of the Municipality;

2. In meeting the objective of optimizing the structure and funding of medical establishments:

The Municipality designated two polyclinics as independent medical centers It plans to decentralize the polyvalent dentists' offices with the Dental Polyclinic, and to bring dentist services closer to the citizens;

a new medical unit was opened in the village of Dalboki in April 1999;

Agreement was reached with all the pharmacies to reduce the percentage of surplus charges on pharmaceuticals prescribed for home treatment, the cost of which is covered by the Municipality of Stara Zagora. About 30,000 citizens are entitled to such a treatment; consequently, cardio-vascular patients benefit from free medicines;

A Primary Medicare Municipal Project was developed, with which the Municipal Health Administration applied for World Bank funding for medical practices.

3. In meeting the objective of a higher proficiency of the medical and paramedical staff:

the Municipality assisted the Medical Department at the Technical University of Stara Zagora in launching post-graduate studies in general medicine, and organized meetings with the Municipal Health Administrations of other big towns, in order to acquaint these administrations with the conditions for application for post-graduate studies in general medicine;

All municipal medical establishments create conditions for, and finance the training of general practitioners.

in 1998, a Center for Training in IT, Economy and Management was established, and conditions were created for the training of staff in health management, for the purpose of promoting an effective and economical management of that sector;

A continuous training of medical personnel by means of a Collegium, seminars, courses and others, stimulates the incentive among physicians from the rural areas to actively participate in the health reform.

The results

All the implementation stages of the "Health Care Strategy" of the Municipality of Stara Zagora are subordinated to the WHO's basic Strategy "Health for All by the Year 2000". The strategy is a tool to cause change, whereby planning includes the choice made concerning the future, and helps to identify the major issues and solutions. The "Health Care Strategy" of the Municipality of Stara Zagora is an open strategy; it can be updated and supplemented at any time.

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For more information you may refer to:

Dr. Zlatina Naneva, Head, Public Health Department

Municipality of Stara Zagora

107 Tsar Simeon Veliki St, Stara Zagora 6000

Tel: (042) 60 04 84, fax: (042) 60 14 43

Dr. Stoyanka Mollova, Deputy Mayor

Municipality of Stara Zagora

Tel: (042) 60 05 54, fax: (042) 60 14 43

e-mail: [email protected]

e-mail: [email protected]