Bulgaria: Tin-Can Ambulances Transport Patients without Changing Seat Covers

The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted not only the problems in hospital and pre-hospital care in our country, but also enabled fraudsters to profit on the backs of patients. It turns out that in Bulgaria the so-called "tin-can“ decrepit cars are found not only among taxis, but also among ambulances.

However, the dangers that put you at risk are more frightening than those in taxis operating unregulated.

Amid a critical shortage of Emergency Medical Center teams and long waiting hours, many people turned to private ambulances promising emergency care. Unaware that they have fallen into the hands of fraudsters who work entirely in the grey sector.

One of the most flagrant cases is that of an elderly woman who has paid BGN 750 for transportation with such allegedly specialized car - and without a doctor, as the standard price for such a service is BGN 50. However, the patient could not prove the fraud because she did not have a receipt and did not write down the ambulance’s license plate number.

Even more shocking is the incident when a private ambulance driver literally discarded the body of a deceased patient on the pavement in front of the emergency room of one of the major Sofia hospitals. Then he ran away and was never found.

How they make money at the expense of sick people?

Most often,  banger ambulances are parked in front of hospitals, and their drivers lie to patients about being doctors. On such “specialized” cars one can even see an inscription "Ambulance", which is also a scam.

Of course, there is no price list. Prices are determined as driver thinks fit, and very often the graver the case, the higher the price. A cash receipt is not issued, and if death occurs in such private ambulance, relatives can not prove who transported their loved one.

A particularly big problem are sanitary and hygiene conditions in these “tin-can“ ambulances, as well as the old or completely missing equipment. Very often, the sheets are not changed, and disposables are washed with water and then used again - something that poses a huge risk to the patient. The ambulance itself is not disinfected, but simply wiped with a rag.

In practice, there is no control with regard to the technical condition of ambulances - there is no mandatory pre-trip inspection by a licensed mechanic or technical maintenance in a service station, and drug/alcohol test before work is a mirage.

If, after all, patients decide to demand their rights, they find themselves in an absurd situation. As a rule, the ambulance is registered to one physical person; the site is registered to a second, and the phone you dialed to call it, to a third one. The driver does not have an employment contract, a cash receipt is not issued.

Private ambulances have nothing to do with emergency services

According to the Medical Institutions Act, emergency care is provided only by the Centers for Emergency Medical Care which are state-owned. Private ambulances are not allowed to provide emergency care, but only medical transport, which is not for emergency cases.

If a private ambulance company is approached by a patient and his condition requires urgent medical attention, then the call is turned down and directed to tel. 112 and the relevant Emergency Care Center. Only these centers’ ambulances may have “Ambulance” logo on their cars.

How can we avoid a “tin-can” ambulance?

First of all, do not hire an ambulance standing in front of the hospital. Do not trust the business cards of allegedly medical staff. Choose a private ambulance, which has its own website on the Internet and has a minimum of 10 ambulances. Make sure whether quality and traffic safety certificates are uploaded on the site. When the specialized car arrives, first notice if it is new.

The private ambulances working "in the light" are new and fully equipped with disposables and medicines. Ambulance crews wear uniforms or company clothing, bearing the name of the company providing medical transportation.

And last but not least, real private ambulances issue all the necessary documents - such as cash receipts and invoices, and on their cars you will not see the inscriptions "Ambulance".

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