The Bulgarian Union of Medical Assistants and Paramedics (BSLAF) sent an opinion to the Health Committee of the National Assembly in connection with the upcoming examination of Draft decision adopting actions to increase permanently the income of healthcare professionals, No 51-554-02-228, tabled by Asen Vassilev and a group of MPs on 30 May 2025. BSLAF supports the need to increase the salaries of nurses and midwives, as well as doctors without specialization.

However, the professional association of medical assistants and paramedics insists that pay should be regulated for all categories of medical professionals and not only for those listed in the draft Decision.

We call explicitly for the profession of medical assistant to be included and for the amount of the minimum basic salary to be in line with the professional qualifications they have acquired.

We consider the petitioners’ approach, which puts some professions in a privileged position over others, despite being in the same health care strand, to be unacceptable. The profession of medical assistant is exercised by medical professionals who provide basic medical care by diagnosing, treating and prescribing therapy. The largest number of medical assistants is in emergency care in the country, in school health care, in outpatient care in remote and hard-to-reach places, in social homes, social care facilities, medical facilities for additional treatment and long-term treatment, etc.

As a result of a long-standing short-sighted policy in the health sector, there is a critical shortage of medical assistants and their exclusion from the measures envisaged in the Draft decision adopting actions to increase permanently the income of healthcare professionals, would put them at a disadvantage and create tensions between health care professionals.

The proposal does not fully reflect the need to improve the remuneration of health professionals, linked to their professional qualifications and their powers in terms of job description. There is no fair approach and standard for updating and determining remuneration. The draft decision is entirely aimed at a certain category of specialists, excluding medical assistants, which is unacceptable.

the Board of BSLAF