An 8-year-old child, severely disabled and under special protection, was transferred from the Ploiești Pediatric Hospital to the “Marie Curie” Hospital in Bucharest alone, by ambulance, without a companion, his case causing an uproar in the online environment.
The case sparked outrage after journalist Diana Marcu, a collaborator of the “Inima Copiilor” Association, reported the situation on Facebook.
The minor, under a special protection measure, was cared for at the “St. Andrei” Residential Center in Ploiești and was initially admitted to the Ploiești Pediatric Hospital on January 28.
The doctors here decided that his condition required specialized treatment in the Capital, at the “Marie Curie” Children’s Clinical Hospital, but the transfer was made without any representative of the center or DGASPC accompanying him, although the child has severe disabilities and is non-verbal.
“HORRIBLE! I can’t turn my head or pretend I didn’t hear. A severely disabled child, an 8-9-year-old, who looks like he’s 4, arrived today in an emergency at the Marie Curie Clinical Hospital for Children in Bucharest ALONE. Of course, with a rescue, but ALONE.
The child is institutionalized, which means that the Directorate of Social Assistance and Child Protection Prahova is responsible for him, as is the responsibility of the Prahova County Council.” Diana Marcu presented the situation.
“The child was a medical emergency and the diagnosis was massive pericarditis and pleurisy / massive pneumothorax. The Marie Curie Cardiosurgery team “drained” him. The child is currently in Intensive Care.
I repeat: SINGLE, 8 years old, with special needsnon verbal”, she emphasized the lack of empathy of those responsible for the child.
What DGASPC says
On the other hand, the representatives of DGASPC Prahova claim that the procedures provided for in such situations were simply followed and that the permanent medical staff was kept in touch.
“Throughout the intervention, the representatives of the “St. Andrew” Center maintained contact with the medical staff of the Ploiești Pediatric Hospital, as well as with the medical team of the “Marie Curie” Hospital. said Simona Albu, director of DGASPC Prahova.
She also explained that, once the child was admitted to Intensive Care in the hospital in Ploiești, the regulation stipulates that the hospital establishes the rules regarding the supervision of the patient:
“I personally kept in touch with the staff at the Pediatric Hospital, and as long as he was admitted to the Ploiești Pediatric Hospital, he told me very clearly that there was no need for a companion because there are medical staff to supervise the child. At the time he was transferred to Bucharest, we were not asked for someone to accompany him either”, also says the head of the DGASPC Prahova, emphasizing that, if the hospital had asked for a companion, the DGASPC would have acted accordingly, but in Intensive Care “theoretically, you can’t even accompany him”.
Regarding Diana Marcu’s observation that the minor looks younger than his biological age, Simona Albu explained:
“It is about a child with severe medical conditions, as there are others in the Saint Andrew Center, and that the physical condition of these children does not depend on the way they are cared for, but depends on the diseases they suffer from.”
From her point of view, the decision was correct, because she strictly follows the medical protocol.
As a result of the reactions from the public environment, the director of the “St. Andrei” Center and a nurse were sent during the morning of Thursday, January 29, to Bucharest to visit the child and make sure that he receives proper care.
Even if the DGASPC claims to have respected the protocol, from a human perspective, the lack of empathy of the staff has generated harsh criticism in the online environment regarding those who work in the field of social assistance, but also about the responsibilities of the authorized institutions.
“It’s horrifying. Humanity is missing more and more, and society encourages “power”. It is the most frightening and cruel reality of a parent who raises a child with a serious disability, totally lacking autonomy, to understand “under whose protection” the child will remain at a given moment…”, someone wrote
“The case is uncommentable. It’s a moment when I don’t understand why some people choose to work in fields for which they have no inclination and natural endowment. Social assistance and medical, then education, are the first on the list in my mind. Then I feel nauseous, because I know that the micro- and macro-management in the related institutions are political sinecures, so those I wrote about in the first sentence are not even obliged to comply with the internal regulations and the sheet the post”, another person commented.
