{"id":12112,"date":"2022-01-19T22:13:07","date_gmt":"2022-01-19T20:13:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crj.ro\/?p=12112"},"modified":"2022-02-22T18:28:46","modified_gmt":"2022-02-22T16:28:46","slug":"the-case-of-ms-g-s-the-resident-with-disabilities-from-cia-zatreni-valcea-the-authorities-responses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crj.ro\/en\/the-case-of-ms-g-s-the-resident-with-disabilities-from-cia-zatreni-valcea-the-authorities-responses\/","title":{"rendered":"The case of Ms. G.S., the resident with disabilities from CIA Z\u0103treni, V\u00e2lcea – the authorities’ responses."},"content":{"rendered":"

Context: <\/b>On November 23 2021, the Center for Legal Resources (CLR) received a telephone referral regarding the case of a young woman with intellectual and sensory (visual) disabilities, Mrs. S.G., who had been suffering from a femoral fracture for four months, occured in the Care and Assistance Center (CIA) in the commune of Z\u0103treni, V\u00e2lcea County, Romania and for whom no measures were taken to alleviate her suffering or to prevent the event that led to the fracture of the femur. Two days later, on November 25, on an unannounced monitoring visit to Z\u0103treni, CLR found in one of the center\u2019s bedrooms a severely malnourished young woman, blind, moaning in pain, with her right leg broken since July and, as it turned out later, without access to adequate services. The young woman’s arms and legs were immobilized and she was unable to express herself verbally (more on Mrs. G.S.’s situation, documented by CLR,  <\/span>HERE<\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

CLR considered Ms. G.S. to be a victim of a long series of inhuman and degrading treatment, as defined by Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. <\/b>For the above reasons, on December 2nd 2021, pursuant to Article 290 of the Criminal Procedure Code and Article 4(i) of Law no. 8\/2016 on the establishment of the mechanisms provided by the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, <\/span>the Centre for Legal Resources referred the matter to the management of the Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity (MMSS), the National Authority for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Children and Adoptions (ANDPDCA), the National Agency for Payments and Social Inspection (ANPIS), the General Directorate for Social Assistance and Child Protection (DGASPC) V\u00e2lcea,and V\u00e2lcea County Council and denounced <\/b>the ill and inhuman treatment to which she was subjected <\/span>to the Prosecutor’s Office<\/b> of the Court of Balce\u0219ti, as the representative of Ms. G.S.<\/span><\/p>\n

Following the complaint lodged by CLR, the <\/b>Public Prosecutor’s Office attached to the Valcea<\/b><\/a> Tribunal started the investigation.<\/b><\/p>\n

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The course of the requests submitted by the Center for Legal Resources (CLR) and the summary of the answers provided by the authorities in the case of Ms G.S. \/ CIA Z\u0103treni, V\u00e2lcea County.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n

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WHAT CLR REQUESTED:<\/b><\/p>\n

On December 2nd, CLR submitter a complaint (<\/span>available HERE)<\/span><\/a> to the management of the Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity, ANDPDCA, ANPIS, DGASPC V\u00e2lcea, and requested the following:<\/span><\/p>\n

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  1. Urgent access to medical and palliative care for the resident G.S. and to promptly inform CLR about granting of such care, as well as of the legality of her institutionalisation in a residential center which has demonstrated that it does not provide adequate services for her health condition.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Investigate why the resident’s health has visibly deteriorated and why a person in obvious suffering has not received and does not receive adequate care.<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Analyze the reason and period of  institutionalization of each resident of CIA Z\u0103treni, present at the time of CLR\u2019s visit. CLR also requested photocopies in anonymized electronic format of the documents attesting the activities and participation of each resident, the indicators and the monitoring of their achievement (evolution of their situation), in the context that many of those institutionalized could be supported for an independent life in the community, and from the discussions with the residents it appeared that Mr. P.I. does not have a disability, but is diagnosed with ulcer.<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. What is the date of the last on-site assessment carried out by ANDPDCA and ANPIS and date of the last visit of a representative of these authorities to CIA Z\u0103treni? CLR requested to receive the conclusions of the on-site assessments.<\/span><\/li>\n
  5. Analysis for each resident, whether the established medical treatments, especially those based on neuroleptics, remain relevant, if they receive visits from the psychiatrist (when was the last visit and who is the attending physician), what are the individual and group therapies, in which each resident participates (if participating), if he \/ she receives support and specialized medical \/ therapeutic assistance, according to their needs.<\/span><\/li>\n
  6. For residents placed under legal guardianship, CLR requested to be verified whether each person has a legal guardian, whether the annual reports have been made, and whether the residents’ guardians can actually verify the conditions in the center and whether the residents can request access to independent living services in the community.<\/span><\/li>\n
  7. What other alternatives do currently institutionalized residents have – apart from being institutionalized in CIA Z\u0103treni, how could they go out and interact with the community, given that they are vaccinated with the 3 doses against COVID-19, and the center does not offer enough options for developing skills for independent living. <\/span><\/li>\n
  8. What are the alternatives for deinstitutionalizing for each resident?<\/span><\/li>\n
  9. Under what conditions do all residents have access to means of reporting abuses and conditions in the center, which was the last complaint made by residents, what is the history entered in the register of special events.<\/span><\/li>\n
  10. What initial and long-term training courses that each employee of the center benefited from  – the period during which they were carried out, who carried them out and contracted them, and any other supporting documents relating to them.<\/span><\/li>\n
  11. From residents from placement centers, who was the guardian of each resident at the time of institutionalization and what did the institutionalization prevention measures consist of, in practice?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    WHAT ANSWERS DID CLR RECEIVE:<\/b><\/h2>\n
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    1. ANDPDCA provided 2 answers:<\/strong>
      A. <\/span>ANDPDCA provided a first response on 14.12.2021 with the name Preliminary Conclusions<\/i>, a response in which it mentions:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n