Bulgaria plagued by shortage of medical professionals: report

Bulgaria suffers from a significant shortage of healthcare professionals, according to a report released by the country's Council for Economic Analyses (CEA) here on Wednesday, reported Xinhua.

There is a shortage of over 1,000 general practitioners (GPs) in the whole country, relatively equal to about a quarter of the total number of GPs registered in 2021, the report said.

In terms of psychiatrists, the staffing gap is over 460, equal to over 70 percent of the total number in 2021.

According to the National Statistical Institute, there are 3,854 GPs and 656 psychiatrists currently active in the country.

As for nurses, the CEA report said that their current number is around 16,900, equal to approximately 60 percent of their total number in 2021.

In 1990, the country had 53,800 registered and active nurses, which dropped to 28,800 in 2021.

Overcoming the shortages is a huge challenge for the government. Prioritizing the training of medical professionals, especially nurses, keeping them in Bulgaria, attracting back Bulgarian professionals working abroad, and significantly improving working conditions and career development opportunities are some of the measures the report proposed to address the issue.