Sofia, June 4 (BTA) - Caretaker Health Minister Stoycho Katsarov
  has replaced all members of the Boards of Directors of the 
state-owned Lozenetz Hospital and Alexandrovska University
Hospital in Sofia, pending the conduct of competitions,
Katsarov's Ministry said in a press release on Friday.

The new Board of Lozenetz Hospital consists of Assoc. Prof. Dr
Radosvet  Gornev, lawyer Iviyan Simeonov and Orlin Nedev.

They replace Prof. Dr Lyubomir Spassov (executive director), Dr
 Georgi Moutafov and nurse Snezhana Ranchova.

The new management designated Dr Gornev as Executive Director of
  the hospital and elected Simeonov Chair of the Board of 
Directors.

The move comes in the wake of checks, prompted by an 
investigative journalist's report, that detected an unlawful 
kidney transplantations scheme in which recipients from Israel,
Japan, Oman and other countries were given kidneys donated by
young people from Moldova and Ukraine, documented as their 
relatives, between 2019 and the end of April 2021. Under 
Bulgarian law, organs from live donors can only be transplanted
 to their next of kin.

In another irregularity, about a month ago the number four on 
the waiting list for a kidney transplant (who holds a senior 
position in the state administration) underwent transplantation
 surgery at the Military Medical Academy after a phone call from
 "somebody at the top," Katsarov explained. The Board explained
 that the patient was just diagnosed with cancer and the 
transplantation was vital to prevent its development.

Also, Lozenetz claimed 238,000 leva from the National Health 
Insurance Fund (NHIF) for treating over 60 outpatients as 
in-patients according to clinical pathways. The Fund received 
the money on the day the check was ordered. The dismissed 
management of the hospital blamed a "technical error" and denied
  allegations that the NHIF has been drained as "untenable and
untrue".
   
Later on Friday, Katsarov appointed a new Board of Alexandrovska
 Hospital, consisting of Prof. Rumen Stoilov (Chairman), Dr
Atanas Atanassov and Gergana Andreeva-Sotirova. The new
management designated Dr Atanassov as Executive Director of  the
 hospital, said the Health Ministry.

Certain financial problems at the hospital were made public by
Dr Alexander Oscar, who resigned as member of the Board of
Directors earlier this week. He claimed that the management had
made a decision on the spending of 30 million leva without
calling Board meetings, and then had asked him to sign the
documents on the expenditure. After Dr Oscar alerted the Health
Minister to what he saw as the hospital's financial
mismanagement resulting in large debts, the present director, Dr
 Boris Bogov, accused him of lying. Then the Health Minister
stated that the hospital's losses totalled 68 million leva.
RY,NV/LG, DD