Heating Charges for the Specialized Hospital King Ferdinand I, for Treatment and Rehabilitation of Lung Diseases

Project location: Bulgaria, Iskrets
Project start date: November 2007 - Project end date: This project covers various years
Project number: 2007-04
Beneficiary: King Ferdinand I Hospital

[2007-04, 2008-20, 2009-37, 2010-53]

The pulmonary hospital "Tzar Ferdinand І" is specialized for treatment of patients who have phthisis or other pulmonary diseases. The hospital was founded a hundred years ago with a donation from Tzar Ferdinand and it is the biggest hospital in the country.  Yearly in this hospital between 2300 and 2500 patients are being treated who are among the poorest part of the population. The expenses for treatment and hospital stay of these patients are undertaken by the State. The State subsidy for one patient's allowance is equal to 135 euro. This sum is excessively insufficient for provision of the necessary means for accommodation, treatment and hospital stay of the patients.  Because of the insufficient subsidy, provision of heating for the patients with their own means is a very serious problem.

During the winter months the temperatures in this mountainous region are very low and the expenses for heating are high and excessive for the hospital. The average monthly expenses for heating is almost one fourth of its monthly incomes, that is why the Hospital needs to look for help in order to solve this problem. Without heating the Hospital will not be able to provide conditions necessary for the treatment of patients, which they urgently need.

From 2007 to 2010 the Nando Peretti Foundation donated the necessary funds for heating.

The hospital is located at Iskretz village near Sophia inside an area called Sanatroriuma.

This is a summary of the activities in this four year period:

2011

For the period November 2010 - February 2011, the hospital has purchased from the Bulgarian company Lukoil a total of 28,179 liters of fuel for heating. It is important to note that the fuel purchased enjoys a preferential taxation, as is used for heating. Following the decision taken by the Bulgarian government at the end of 2010, organizations and state enterprises have the opportunity to buy heating fuel at low tax rates and the Hospital took advantage of this and has repeatedly purchased with funds donated by Foundation a cheaper and tax-reduced heating fuel.

The fuel was loaded into the boiler Buderus commercial cast model G 615, manufactured in Germany, which supplied heat to the hospital daily until the end of February 2011.
During the period from October 2010 to February 2011, 594 patients were treated in the hospital, including 173 with pulmonary tuberculosis and 421 with chronic bronchial and pulmonary system diseases. During this period, the hospital's halls were heated five hours in the morning, five hours in the evening and during the coldest days, also 2 hours during the day.

 2010

The grant enabled heating for the hospital's patients and for the personnel working at the hospital for the period 21.10. 2009- 12.04.2010. For said period the Hospital purchased 51.184 liters of fuel in total. During the heating period fuel has been supplied in eight deliveries. The fuel was loaded in the two four-ton tanks of the Hopsital heating system connected to the diesel heating boiler model Buderus G 615, with a consumption rate between 40 and 85 litres/hour depending on the temperature of water heating in the heating system and the external temperatures. The high fuel consumption rate results from the huge heating volume of the Hospital building which is е 10. 661cubic metres.

The heating in the hospital rooms was provided at a schedule depending on the external temperatures. During that period, in the Hospital there were 1110 patients, and 199 out of these were with illness "lung tuberculosis", and 911 - with diseases of the bronchial and lung system. With the donation granted by the Nando Peretti Foundation the hospital managed to guarantee to the patients the necessary conditions for conducting their hospital treatment and to achieve better results regarding the treatment and rehabilitation process.

2009

During this period the Hospital purchased a total of 56,892 litres of fuel for heating.

2008

 The first installment arrived at the end of November 2007. Necessary fuel was purchased. The heating system operated 4 hours in the mornings and four hours in the evenings. From 26.11.2007 toal 07.01.2008,  583 patients were at the hospital. 96 with tubercolosis and 487 with lung diseases.