14.1. Press coverage of the NPM’s reports published in 2016
At first, the media paid the most attention to the Zita Home for Children
with Special Needs because of its issues of over-crowdedness, violence
between children, drug problems, and the isolation period; later, in connection with my report on the Cseppkõ children��s home, the media revisited my
report on the Zita children’s home in the context of child prostitution.
The press reports on the Home for Children with Special Needs and the
Home for Children with Disabilities of the Károlyi István Children’s Center
are rather mixed up; they keep on referring to my report on the Zita Home
for Children with Special Needs. In connection with the home for children
with special needs, the media dwelled on the topic of aggressive children
at great length, pointing out that the personnel had not been prepared for
it. Press reports also often mentioned that the staff members’ qualifications
were not adequate for the nature and challenges of their work, and they
did not have proper qualifications. The press reports also cited my report’s
findings as regards high staff turnover in the institution. They also pointed
out that the records were not transparent, isolation and separation were
applied in violation of the relevant legal regulations. They also mentioned
that children received sedatives on the nurses’ recommendation and that the
guardians lacked any sense of responsibility.
In connection with the Cseppkõ Children’s Home, in addition to the
aforementioned issues of child protection, a TV report also raised the issue of
the proper moral and financial appreciation of persons working in children’s
homes. The press reports also mentioned that the institution’s staff members
had hindered the NPM’s on-site inspection, pointing out that they had taken
away the children from the institution for the time of the inspection. Several
media platforms reported the fact uncovered by the NPM, that there were
actually three different children’s homes on the same premises, which constitutes an infringement of the prevailing legal regulations. The press also
covered judicially uncontrolled deprivation of liberty, failure to report child
prostitution, and sexual and physical abuse among children. There was a
report mentioning the fact uncovered by the NPM that fighting and vandalism in the children’s home had reached a point when the police’s involvement had become necessary.
Parts of the content of my report on the assisted living center for the elderly in Pécel were also published in the electronic media. In connection with
this report, the media also paid attention to the personnel, pointing out that
they are overworked, and the tense atmosphere among them. Furthermore,
issues of hygiene, lack of barrier-free access, generally poor conditions, apathy among the residents, the absence of leisure activities, and hospitalization
were also covered in the press.
In the press reports on police holding facilities, special emphasis was
laid on the deficiencies of video monitoring, the lack of adequate living
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