00:00Almost 90 years old and still a full-time doctor.
00:05This Bulgarian hospital is so short on staff.
00:08Dr. Milka Bogueva is still working weekdays and weekends at 87.
00:12Almost all of her colleagues here are also past retirement age.
00:28The retired doctors working here are no exception.
00:32A third of all working doctors in Bulgaria are above retirement age.
00:36Without them, the system would collapse.
00:39Bulgaria is one of the fastest aging countries in the world.
00:42Demand for medical care is growing.
00:44But its government spends much less on healthcare than the European Union average.
00:49It has the lowest minimum wage in the EU.
00:52Doctors here are paid as little as 1,000 euros a month.
00:55We're in the edge of the knife.
00:57The head of the hospital, Stefan Nikolov, who is also past retirement age,
01:01is having a hard time recruiting newcomers.
01:04I can't take the young doctor here with 1,000 euros salary.
01:10Nobody came.
01:11But while hospitals in remote areas are struggling to find enough doctors to function,
01:17the lecture halls at Bulgarian medical universities are packed.
01:21Bulgaria has twice as many medical graduates as the EU average.
01:25The problem?
01:26Many of these students end up working abroad for more money.
01:29Which country do you see your future in as a young doctor?
01:33In general, Germany and Switzerland have only 100% of Bulgarian doctors.
01:40Last year, Chiara Dimitrova helped organize a countrywide protest.
01:45Doctors and nurses asked for better pay and working conditions under the slogan,
01:49Do we have a future in Bulgaria?
01:51The demonstrations helped secure promises for pay raises from the center-right government,
01:56but the plans were put on hold.
01:58And at the end of 2025, the government resigned amid mass anti-corruption protests.
02:16Back in Dubnica, Milka is hopeful that the future is more promising for young doctors in Bulgaria.
02:40Bulgarians are electing a new parliament in April, the same month, Milka plans on finally retiring.
02:48Thank you very much for joining us.
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