Public Council for the National Children's Hospital Resigns, Ministry of Health Accepts

Hours after the Public Council for the National Children’s Hospital submitted its resignation, the Ministry of Health (MoH) accepted it. The council cited a lack of information regarding the hospital’s construction and a reactive approach to issues essential for ensuring the project’s integrity as reasons for their resignation. According to the members, the Public Council has effectively been ignored by the MoH and the children’s hospital investment company; despite being tasked with ensuring transparency, its members often learn about ideas, intentions, and decisions related to the hospital at the same time as the general public.

A few hours later, the health authority announced that it had accepted the resignation. The Ministry of Health stated that the Public Council is a form of public engagement with a sensitive and long-awaited national project. The Ministry clarified that the council’s consultative function does not include operational reporting or oversight powers.

According to the MoH, a project of such scale requires work across multiple parallel tracks and does not allow for updates after every meeting or operational activity. Institutional accountability, they added, is carried out according to established procedures—through regular meetings, the provision of official documents, interim results, and public implementation milestones.

“The suggestions of a lack of transparency do not contribute to achieving a better result and have the potential to increase public distrust in a project that Bulgarian citizens have been expecting for years. Such an attitude does not support dialogue but shifts the focus away from the actual work of building the hospital—a goal that requires a unification of efforts, not additional tension,” the Ministry stated.

The Ministry assured that the project’s implementation is moving within the specified deadlines and in compliance with the Public Procurement Act, the Health Act, and all applicable technical and financial requirements. Currently, work is proceeding in parallel on several key areas: finalizing the design brief, infrastructure provision, financial analysis, and meetings with heads of medical institutions and pediatric structures in Sofia.

Regarding the request for the advance provision of the technical specifications, the MoH clarified that the Health Investment Company for the Children’s Hospital is following the guidelines of the Public Procurement Agency, according to which such an action would violate the law. “The restriction is regulatory, not organizational, and should not be interpreted as a lack of desire for transparency,” the Ministry added.

“The National Children’s Hospital project is long-term. Not all issues have been finalized, but progress is measurable and traceable. The public will continue to be informed at every key stage of the project’s implementation,” the MoH further noted.

The Ministry expressed its gratitude to the members of the Public Council for their time, expertise, and professional commitment during their joint work to date.