“The situation is very difficult due to the lack of personnel. We have a woman with a master's degree in pharmacy who is almost 80 years old, there are no young people”, commented the mayor of Belogradchik Boyan Minkov on the air of ”Wake up” on NOVA. Due to the illness of the only specialist, the municipal pharmacy in the city remained closed, which put the residents in a critical situation.
Marinka Ivanova is one of the residents of Belogradchik who rely on the municipal pharmacy for important medications after suffering a stroke. She shares with disappointment that she cannot do without medications, but currently she cannot buy them from the closed pharmacy. This is one of two pharmacies in the rock town, but the lack of staff is proving to be a serious obstacle to its normal functioning.
To solve the problem, the municipality announced that it will pay 400 euros per month for the entire period of training for pharmacy students. Mayor Boyan Minkov explained that future pharmacists will be paid for their entire education, and after graduation they must sign a contract to work in the municipal pharmacy for a period of three years.
In addition to the scholarship, Belogradchik is also offering a starting salary of at least three minimum wages. The initiative is open to candidates from all over the country. Local residents such as Prolet Kostadinova and Krasimira Mihaylova define this as an excellent opportunity and hope that young people will take advantage of it so that the town has a working pharmacy.
Belogradchik is not a small town and welcomes many tourists, which increases the need for permanent pharmaceutical services. “There is always a queue here, which is an indication that we cannot do without it, which is why we are taking these actions”, summarized Boyan Minkov.