Today, the Bulgarian authorities together with the European Commission representatives celebrated the delivery of the first Helicopter allowing for the functioning of the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service to start in Bulgaria.
- 02 February 2024
The helicopter has been purchased thanks to Cohesion Policy funding, amounting to EUR 11,3 million, through the Operational Programme “Regions in Growth 2014-2020”.
The Helicopter Emergency Medical Service will ensure equal access to emergency medical treatment and/or 24-hour diagnostics, monitoring and treatment in cases where the time to perform surface transport exceeds by more than 30 minutes the estimated transport time to the nearest hospital.
Boyko Blagoev, Head of the EC Representation in Sofia present at the event, underlined the positive impact of this investment for Bulgarian citizens. The Helicopter Emergency Medical Service will significantly increase the chances to save the lives of critical patients, and the capacity to respond to disasters, accidents, or catastrophes. It will also improve the emergency medical system for transplantation and the development of the national and European coordination and increased preparedness for joint action in medical evacuation and rescue operations. The Helicopter Emergency Medical Service will become fully operational once the purchase of the other helicopters will be finalised, with the support of the Recovery and Resilience Plan.
More information
- https://2020.eufunds.bg/en/0/0/Project/BasicData?contractId=8Mnq%2BZb0%2F10cEtirVuXWSQ%3D%3D&isHistoric=False
- https://www.mh.government.bg/bg/evropeyski-programi/tekushti-programi-i-proekti/operativna-programa-regioni-v-rastezh-2014-2020g/bg16rfop001-4002-0001-c01-osiguryavane-na-vzdushni-prevozni-sred/?edit&language=bg