The problem with degrading conditions in nursing homes is systemic - back in 2006, the ECHR condemned Bulgaria. And the prosecutor's office wants to be a high-paid stand-in for the RHI, the Agency for the Quality of Social Services or the Ombudsman, but it is failing. This was stated on the air of “Hello, Bulgaria” by the former minister of justice and co-chair of the PP-DB parliamentary group Nadezhda Yordanova.
The last few days have confirmed a worrying trend - systematic ignoring of the law in the care of the elderly in Bulgaria. Unlicensed nursing homes and hospices operating as "rooms for rent" were discovered, where sick people were found living in inhumane conditions, who were systematically tied up, beaten or drugged. Six people were detained during the inspections. The cases led to strong public discontent, calls for legislative changes and the criminalization of illegal social care for the elderly.
According to her, the prosecutors' claim that the possibility of legality supervision has been taken away is arrogant and false. "The incrimination of certain socially dangerous acts has a preventive function. However, in order to implement deterrence, the prosecutor's office must investigate and press charges - this is the inevitability of punishment. Supervision of legality can be carried out by a series of bodies", explained Yordanova.
The former Minister of Justice pointed out that the prosecutor's office cannot want to be a high-paid stand-in for the RHI, the Agency for the Quality of Social Services or the Ombudsman. "Why hasn't the state prosecution fulfilled the preventive function? Why are there no indictments for the fire in Varna in 2021, where one person died and three were injured? What about the one in Royak, where nine people died, and the "house of horrors" in Dragalevtsi? The prosecutor's office is failing in its main function. A series of governments have failed to cope with the task of inspecting nursing homes.Bulgaria has a systemic problem, identified in a series of reports. The ECHR has issued a condemnatory decision for degrading treatment in such accommodation facilities since 2006.", commented the PP-DB MP.
Public expectations of official institutions are for legislative changes to criminalize illegal social care; immediate sanctions in the absence of a license and the possibility of closing homes even upon appeal.
From 2022, the Ombudsman institution insists on criminalizing the activity of illegal provision of social services to elderly and sick people. And according to Yordanova, this proposal has been partially accepted - only under the conditions of domestic violence. "This is neglect of the problem. This parliament must accept the criminalization of the acts and elect a new ombudsman," the MP urged.
The vote of no confidence may succeed, Yordanova believes. "There is public discontent, and in such moments Borisov has thrown in the towel more than once - when the majority becomes difficult and accumulates a lot of negativity. GERB can escape responsibility. If the PP submits a vote of no confidence, it is unrealistic for the DB to support the government," she suggested.