Burgas council will hold a competition to choose new managers for its two polyclinics, DKC I – Burgas EOOD and DKC II – Burgas EOOD. Councillors voted for it at their meeting on 27 October, on a proposal from mayor Dimitar Nikolov.
The same decision sets the rules for the medical activity contracts the council will sign with the managers of its health facilities.
The companies are Diagnostic and Consultative Centre One – Burgas EOOD (company ID 102272815) and Diagnostic and Consultative Centre Two – Burgas EOOD (company ID 102100783). The competition will follow Ordinance No. 9 of 26 June 2000, which sets out how managers of health facilities are chosen.
Applicants must hand in their papers in a sealed, opaque envelope at the council's registry office at 26 Aleksandrovska Street. They have 30 days from the day the notices appear on the websites of Burgas council and the municipal council.
Candidates must be Bulgarian citizens, or citizens of another EU state, of a party to the European Economic Area Agreement, or of Switzerland. They need a master's degree in medicine with a qualification in health management. A master's degree in economics and management is also accepted, if the candidate has training, a degree or a specialisation in health management.
Candidates also need at least five years of work in their field and three years of management experience.
People under a court-ordered ban on managing their affairs cannot apply. Nor can people convicted of a deliberate common crime, or those barred from running a public enterprise. People declared insolvent as sole traders are also excluded, as are partners with unlimited liability in a bankrupt firm that left creditors unpaid. So are people who in the past two years sat on the management or supervisory body of a company or cooperative wound up for insolvency, if its creditors did not get their money back.
A public post under the Law on the Court of Audit, a seat in a political cabinet, or the job of municipal secretary also cannot be combined with running the polyclinic. The manager cannot run another public enterprise. The manager is also barred from trading deals and from being a partner in a general partnership, a limited partnership or an LLC, but only if its business is similar to the polyclinic's. All four of these rules must be met on the date the management contract is signed.
The envelope must hold a free-form application, a professional CV, copies of diplomas, papers proving work history and experience, and a statement that the candidate meets the conditions. For the health management qualification, candidates must add a document required by the ordinance.
The five-year development programme for the polyclinic goes in a separate sealed envelope inside the main one. In it, the candidate analyses the state and work of the company, health and demographic data, health and economic data, and other outpatient care facilities in the region that offer similar medical help. The programme sets out ways to develop the polyclinic, its goals, the results expected in management, funding and structure, and the stages of delivery.
The competition has three stages. A committee checks the papers and lets through only candidates who meet the requirements. It then scores the programmes on six criteria, including whether they fit the law and the polyclinic's real situation, and whether the theory can work in practice.
Candidates whose programme gets an average score of at least 4.50 ("very good") go to an interview. There they defend their programme and show how well they know the rules. The interview is scored on six criteria, including planning and decision-making, communication and organisational skills, and solving a specific problem.
Scores use the six-point scale, in steps of 0.25, with a top mark of 6 ("excellent").
The committee has five members. The chair is a representative of the municipal council. The secretary is the head of the council's DPMK directorate, and the head of the PNO directorate is the qualified lawyer. The other two members come from the Regional Health Inspectorate and from the Bulgarian Medical Union in Burgas.
Before they start, members sign statements that they have no conflict of interest and no ties to the candidates, and that they will be impartial. The committee will decide whether the competition is held by video link.