Prime minister Rumen Radev has promised to pay close attention to doctors' working conditions and to bring modern forms of treatment to Bulgaria. He spoke at the opening of the "Doctors We Trust" forum, organised by the newspaper 24 Chasa.

Bulgaria must treat patients with the most modern methods, like other countries, and its health care should keep moving closer to leading standards, Radev said. He expects the shift from hospital treatment to prevention to become more solid.

Checks on disability board (TELK) rulings will be tightened.

More than 800,000 people in Bulgaria have a TELK ruling, and the number of rulings is growing exponentially, the prime minister said. He said he does not dispute the real diagnoses of these people.

Radev said the government will also invest in digital systems to remove the room for abuse. "I can't promise you that we will turn a blind eye. The checks will become even broader," he said. He also hopes Bulgarian doctors will no longer be detained by the authorities.

Health spending is nearly half a billion euros higher this year. The money goes to the health insurance fund, the national children's hospital, the pay of young doctors and creating conditions for them to build their careers.

Radev told young doctors that the state has a duty to give them professional careers in Bulgaria. "We need your knowledge, talent and energy," he added.

The prime minister said doctors have a mission to keep trust alive in a society where it is eroding, and that they are a pillar of trust. Health is a decisive factor in the development of society, he said, because without it no national goal can be reached. To be effective, a person must be healthy and have the widest possible range of mental and physical health.

At the forum, Radev presented awards to obstetrician-gynaecologists Prof Dimitar Markov and Dr Mariya Yunakova, to Prof Ivan Kostov, director of the Maichin Dom specialised hospital for active treatment in obstetrics and gynaecology, and to Prof Asen Nikolov, head of the delivery room at Maichin Dom.