Romani Woman Dies in Bulgarian Capital after Waiting Two Hours for Ambulance

20 November 2007

According to the Bulgarian newspaper The Sofia Echo, Ms Anka Metodieva, 51-year-old Romani woman, was found in the yard of her house at 5:00 PM on 3 August 2007 after she had had a stroke. Despite numerous calls to the Bulgarian medical hotline, an ambulance only arrived hours later when it was too late. The ambulance transported Ms Metodieva to a hospital where she died, but doctors there reportedly told relatives that she could have been saved if two hours had not been lost in waiting for the ambulance. Ms Metodieva was a resident of Fakulteta in Sofia and relatives have accused the emergency centre of discrimination, asking the Minister of Health to review the case, according to the Sofia Echo.

(Sofia Echo)