A conversation about hospice care

We receive many questions, so we decided to put some of them to Ms Petrova in a short interview.

Relatives often ask me this when they see how demanding it is to care for someone who is ill. The answer lies in that very difficulty. As a healthcare professional with nearly 40 years of experience, I have met people from all walks of life — rich and poor, happy and sad. What connects them is their health and their love for one another.
Each person wants to get better, and their family wants their loved one to recover and return home as soon as possible.

When we introduced our first services in 2000 , our aim was to help people needing medical care outside hospital, as hospital stays were becoming shorter.

Twenty years later, the need for our care is even clearer. We keep adapting and learning so that we can support patients with a wider range of needs.

Broadly, there are two groups:
People needing medical procedures or rehabilitation for themselves, most often after joint replacement, a heart attack or a stroke.
Relatives who can no longer provide enough care at home and need support. Some cannot manage alone as the illness progresses; others no longer have the time they were previously able to give.

Whatever brings patients to us, we treat everyone equally and care for each person according to their individual needs.
We try to care for both body and mind. Social contact and emotional wellbeing are important parts of recovery.

Patients and their families can expect us to follow the prescribed care, treatment course and recovery plan carefully.
We are also responsible for the necessary personal hygiene care and appropriate nutrition in line with the individual diet.

Palliative care is perhaps one of the main differences between hospices in Bulgaria and those in Western Europe.

While hospices in the West mainly care for people approaching the end of life, the Bulgarian healthcare system means that many of our patients need medical care to support recovery and a return to their families.

Affordability is difficult to generalise about because people’s incomes differ, but hospice care can cost considerably less than caring for a patient in a hospital setting.

Hospices in some other countries receive public health funding, while in Bulgaria they fund their own operations.

Even so, we strive to keep our services as accessible as possible in these difficult times.

We have always tried to offer the support people cannot provide for themselves: medical care, advice, reassurance during a difficult time, understanding and a friendly shoulder to lean on.

Life can change in an instant, and none of us is immune.
When something goes wrong, having someone to reach out and help matters most.

We cannot do everything and we have no magic wand. But we are healthcare professionals who have made it our mission to make a difference to every patient who comes to us.

That is why our motto is: Your concern is our concern!