Sofia, Bulgaria

Region profile

Sofia is the capital city of Bulgaria and a national administrative unit of its own right. Sofia region divided into 24 districts and encompass three other towns and 34 villages.
Sofia's development as a significant settlement owes much to its central position in the Balkans. It is situated in western Bulgaria, at the northern foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the Sofia Valley that is surrounded by mountains on all sides.
Sofia's history spans 2,400 years. Its ancient name Serdica derives from the local Celtic tribe of the Serdi who established the town in the 5th century BC. It remained a relatively small settlement until 1879, when it was declared the capital of Bulgaria.

The outlook of Sofia combines a wide range of architectural style. A number of ancient Roman, Byzantine and medieval Bulgarian buildings are preserved in the centre of the city.
The city has an extensive green belt.

Health and Social Care in the Region

The whole Capital Municipality has a population of 1,301,683. The unemployment is lower than in other parts of the country —less than 4% of the active population.
The health insurance is mandatory for all citizens. There are many hospitals in the city – University, community and private. The primary healthcare is provided by the General practitioners.
The social care include social assistance, personal assistance, day centres for the elderly, home social patronage etc.
The healthcare and the social care are almost entirely divided. There is no regular communications between GP's and social workers.

BeyondSilos in Sofia

Social and health care services are currently provided in silos across the whole country with no cooperation between social and health care providers. BeyondSilos in Sofia aims at changing this situation by implementing and testing an integrated care record shared between social and health care providers in
the region.

BeyondSilos service users receive personal and telemonitoring attention from health and social carers, resulting in well-coordinated integrated care. Services that are being joined-up and coordinated in BeyondSilos include the provision of telecare and telehealth, household support, support in carrying out activities of daily living such as eating and bathing as well as healthcare services such as wound care or medication assistance. The BeyondSilos services are provided to older people living with chronic diseases, at risk of social exclusion and in need of social care.

The model incorporates service providers from the Centre for Protection of Rights in HealthCare (CPRH), Divaro Medical Centre, the Family Policy Institute and the public social services provided by Sofia municipality.