Management and administrative capacity
The trend that the personnel employed at the homes for children with disabilities would
pass various trainings and would participate in qualification improvement courses
continued this year as well. Many of the homes have available staffing resources such as
psychologist, speech therapist, art therapist, rehabilitator. An example of good practice is
the Home for Mentally Challenged Children in Medven Village. In 2013 each of the
employees of the home has attended training how to work with children with disabilities.
Health care
The NPM team did not find problems with the health care provided to children with
disabilities, with the exception of the Home for Children with Disabilities "Sveti Nikolay
Chudotvorets" in Krushari Village.
The children are taken regularly to LEDC for re-certification and they have expert
decisions for disability with various percentages of mental retardation. Many of them
receive medicines on the basis of protocols for the respective diseases. Children placed in
homes for mentally challenged children are also taken to prophylactic exams and tests
twice a year. They are regularly visited by a psychiatrist, and protocols for free of charge
disbursement of the medicines are drawn up, if necessary. Teams of the Emergency Aid
from the nearby hospitals are also called in case of emergency.
The NPM believes it is particularly important to draw attention to the findings from the
inspection of the institution in Krushari Village, Dobrich District.
The NPM inspected the Home for Children with Mental Retardation (HCMR) "Sveti
Nikolay Chudotvorets" in Krushari Village on 4 April 2013. The team found that the
capacity of the home is 100 children and individuals. 93 are accommodated there at the
time of the inspection. This is the institution for children with disabilities having the
biggest capacity in the country. It is situated in Krushari Village and the nearest hospital is
approximately 30 km from there. 70 of the children placed in the home have severe forms
of disabilities and should have continuous medical observation. Only 6 nurses are
employed full-time at the home, there is no full-time position envisaged for a head nurse.
No annual schedule regarding the health care for the children is drawn up.
There are few premises and they are insufficient in terms of space so as to provide
adequate care to the big number of children accommodated there. The rehabilitation halls
are insufficiently equipped and are also small. Having in mind that most of the children
cannot move or hardly move, one rehabilitator and one kinesitherapist are insufficient for
the movement therapies required. The therapists mentioned were hired in March 2013.
Most of the children were lying down all day long before that.
The NPM got acquainted with the report prepared by the Central Directorate "Control on
Children's Rights" – Varna, as a result of their inspection at the HCMR in Krushari Village,
carried out on 5 and 6 February 2013. The inspections have also found that the full-time
positions for specialised personnel may hardly be filled due to the low remuneration
level, the remoteness of the village from the town of Dobrich, as well as due to the need to
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