V. SOCIAL AND MEDICAL - SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS FOR CHILDREN
1. Homes for children with disabilities
In 2013 the NPM team inspected 13 homes for children with disabilities and 2 centres for
accommodation of a family type. All homes for children with disabilities are to be closed
down in 2014. CAFT and protected homes will be built instead. During the past year the
inspections of the NPM team were focused not only on the currently operating homes, but
on the monitoring of the last stage in the deinstitutionalisation process for children with
disabilities.
Living conditions
The findings of the NPM are that the living conditions for the children in these homes are
very good. The children have sufficient personal space, well-equipped yards – with
facilities adapted for children with disabilities. The Home for Children with Disabilities in
Kula and the Home for Children with Disabilities in Ilakov Rat Village, Elena Municipality
are exceptions. The condition of the buildings of the two homes is not good, the general
hygiene is not well maintained. The children are using sleeping premises with up to 5
beds. The rooms are not spacious, there are no wardrobes and cabinets for personal
belongings. One sanitary unit with a bathroom is available to each three or four rooms.
The conclusion of the inspecting team is that the required personal space is not made
available to the users. The team found mould on the walls during the visit to the kitchens
and the canteens. There are no platforms and / or elevators for children with disabilities.
The findings of the NPM are that this violates the children's rights to free movement, as
well as the provisions of art. 9 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
and the NPM recommends putting in place infrastructure suitable for children with
disabilities.
A positive trend is the offering of the new social services to children with disabilities. The
NPM team visited centres for accommodation of family type in Karnobat and Kyustendil.
The new social service represents one-storey houses. The following premises are
available in the buildings: common premise for games, study and eating, bedrooms,
sanitary unit and kitchen. There are recreation and outdoor activity spaces in front of the
centres. The premises are built in a way ensuring living conditions close to the family
ones. The environment is as accessible to the children with motion disabilities and
difficult mobility as possible. The capacity of each CAFT is 12 children with a possibility to
accommodate 2 more children in case of emergency. A negative finding is the insufficient
number of the medical staff. Two full-time openings for nurses are announced in the
Centre for Accommodation of a Family Type in Karnobat. The NPM recommends an
increase in the full-time positions for nurses in order to improve the quality of the social
service, as two nurses are extremely insufficient to take good quality medical care for
children with disabilities – it is impossible to secure 24-hour duty of the medical
personnel.
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