The Center for Legal Resources continued in the past months, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, its’ actions monitoring the respect of the rights of residents in centers of persons with disabilities (as well as other vulnerable groups), adapting to the new epidemiological requirements. This was done by contacting, by phone, hundreds of residential centers and by raising before the responsible authorities issues raised by residents and employees. The account below summarizes a part of this work, listing a series of requests, petitions, notifications and complaints lodged by the CLR team in the last months, together with the responses of the institutions they were addressed to, where these responses were received.
Disclaimer: © All information in the documents published on this website belongs to the Center for Legal Resources (CLR), based on access to information. Using this information may be done only if quoted correctly and with mentioning the source: Center for Legal Resources / Advocate for Dignity / COVID-19, 2020.
🔴 Public information requests pursuant to Law no. 544/2001 regarding the plan of measures for the preparation of hospitals, Orders adopted by the Minister of Health for the preparation and organization of hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic, contact details for persons responsible for ensuring the integration of specific measures aiming at the protection of persons with disabilities within the Ministry of Health/National Committee for Special Emergency Situations, addressed to the:
▪ Ministry of Health (available here). Through letter no. 16019/16.04.2020, the Ministry of Health informed CLR that the necessary period of time for the identification and the dissemination of the requested information shall be longer than 10 days, and the answer will be provided in 30 days.
The response is available here.
▪ National Committee for Special Emergency Situations (CNSSU) within the Ministry of Internal Affairs (available here). CNSSU refused to provide a registration number, even after repeated phone requests.
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🔴 Notifications pursuant to Government Ordinance no. 27/2002 regarding the regulation of petitions, regarding the closure of nursing homes until the end of the state of emergency in Râmnicu Vâlcea and in Onești, addressed to:
▪ The National Agency for Payments and Social Inspection (ANPIS): here.
ANPIS’s response no. 2129/DIS/06.05.2020 is available here.
▪ The Prosecutor’s Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice, the notification being forwarded to the Râmnicu Vâlcea Prosecutor’s Office on 06.04.2020: here.
▪ Ombudsman (no. 6152/06.04.2020): here.
Ombudsman’s response: here.
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🔴 Notifications pursuant to Government Ordinance no. 27/2002 regarding the regulation of petitions, regarding the violation of the Military Ordinance no. 8/2020 provisions by the Lădeşti Center for Medical-Social Assistance, in Vâlcea county, addressed to:
▪ Vâlcea County Council (no. 85/16.04.2020) – available here. Response no. 85/27.04.2020 is available here.
▪ Vâlcea County Police Inspectorate (no. 32462/ RPS/16.04.2020 – here, forwarded to Lăpuşata Police Station), reply no. 32462/RPS/13.05.2020 available here.
▪ Vâlcea Public Health Directorate – here, reply no. 13129/15.05.2020, available here.
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🔴 Public information requests pursuant to Law no. 544/2001 regarding patients from nursing homes in Galați and in Orăștie with COVID-19 clusters, addressed to:
▪ Galați CFR Hospital (no. 4495/24.04.20) – here. Galați CFR Hospital explicitly refused to provide the information requested (response no. 4838/25.05.2020). On 7.05.2020, CLR lodged a complaint pursuant to Law no. 544/2001 (no. 4948/08.05.2020).
▪ Orăştie Municipal Hospital – here. The hospital’s answer is available here.
▪ Deva County Emergency Hospital (no. 10245/ 23.04.2020) – available here.
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🔴 Petitions pursuant to Government Ordinance no. 27/2002 addressed to the Ministry of Health regarding the inclusion of institutionalized persons with disabilities and associated staff in the testing prioritization lists, submitted on 25.04.2020 and 29.04.2020. The Ministry’s responses: here and here.
More information on the subject here.
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🔴 Public information request based on Law no.544/2001 regarding the testing of employees in residential centers and the hospitalization of institutionalized residents with disabilities, addressed to the Vaslui Public Health Directorate – here.
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🔴 Complaint before the National Council against Discrimination regarding the direct discrimination of residents with disabilities with COVID-19 in the Păclișa Care and Assistance Centers no. 1, 2, 3, in Hunedoara county, regarding the refusal of access to public health services based on disability criteria and on affiliation to a disadvantaged group (institutionalized persons), no. 2700/11.05.2020, available here.
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🔴 Requests by phone and e-mail addressed to the Suceava County Directorate for Social Assistance and Child Protection regarding the lack of access to communication for residents with disabilities in the Sasca Mica Neuropsychic Recuperation and Rehabilitation Center, requesting the provision of telephone numbers where relatives may receive information.
More details here.
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🔴 Public information requests pursuant to Law no. 544/2001 regarding the quarantining of the Dărmănești Center for Recuperation and Neuropsychic Rehabilitation and the assessment of the infection risk within the center, addressed to the:
▪ Bacău Directorate for Social Assistance and Child Protection (DGASPC) (no. 54819 / 34 / IP/13.05.2020). DGASPC response available here.
▪ Bacău Public Health Directorate (nr. 1457/ 14.05.2020). The answer here.
▪ Bacău County Committee for Emergency Situations (no. 5/14.05.2020), redirected towards the Bacău Prefecture.
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🔴 Petition pursuant to Government Ordinance no. 27/2002 addressed to the Ministry of Health, the National Institute for Public Health, the National Center for Supervision and Control of Transmissible Diseases (available here) regarding the:
▪ Modification of the “Methodology for the supervision of the acute respiratory syndrome with the new coronavirus (COVID-19)” by including all institutionalized persons with disabilities and assistance personnel (not just care personnel);
▪ Drafting of methodological provisions in partnership with the National Authority for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Children and Adoption for persons with disabilities and care and assistance personnel in daytime and residential social services destined to children and adults with disabilities;
▪ Providing Public Health Directorates with budgetary resources necessary for testing all employees and institutionalized persons;
▪ Verifying the legality of the quarantine measures of staff and residents with disabilities in the Dărmăneşti Center for Recuperation and Neuropsychic Rehabilitation, in Bacău county.
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CLR continues monitoring and its’ actions to influence decision-makers. We will return in the following days with new information regarding our actions and the steps we consider necessary in order to protect the rights of the most vulnerable.
