Social Institution for Adults with Mental Illness

Radovetz village, Haskovo district

During the BHC visit to the institution in October 2001 the buildings were in a very bad state - falling plaster, smoky walls, urine and faeces on the cement floor, no furniture apart from beds and broken tables. The lighting in the rooms is far from sufficient - a single light bulb for a 15-20 sq.m. room, and some rooms lack even this basic amenity. The corridors in one of the dormitories has no light whatsoever. Residents' rooms do not have electric plugs. The institution has no inner toilets; its bathroom, located underground, has one shower and is in a very bad condition. The sinks in each dormitory do not have taps and there's only one working inner tap. Residents are forced to use the water fountains in the yard for their most elementary hygiene needs.

In the autumn of 2001 repairs were started at the institution, which will involve exterior renovation, fitting in of a steam boiler, splitting the larger rooms into smaller ones, change of the lighting to luminescent lighting, and some other smaller repairs - totaling 120,000 euro. After the completion of the first phase of the repairs in March 2002, the quality of life of the residents did not seem to have improved. On the contrary, during the period of the repair they had been cramped together many people to a room. There had been rooms where 15-20 people were accommodated; at the same time some residents were accommodated in the day room, which means that it couldn't be used according to purpose. Three months later, in June 2002, the residents were still not living in their renovated rooms - a fact, which the institution director could give no plausible explanation for.

The hygiene in the buildings continues to be dreadful. The walls in the corridors and rooms are peeling and dirty. The floor, especially in the rooms of the bedridden residents, in covered in urine and faeces, the stench is overwhelming, the windows have not been cleaned and there are no curtains.

During the BHC visit researchers heard complaints from the residents that the orderlies treated them in a degrading manner, including kicks and hitting. Specifically, residents complained of being kicked and hit while they were having their hair cut. We also heard complaints of degrading treatment during bathing. The orderlies bullied the residents even at the time of the visit.

The BHC and Amnesty International established that the practices of seclusion of residents without due registration for various reasons were still carried out in Radovetz. At the time of the visit residents were secluded in 2 rooms; they complained from the attitude of the personnel to them during the seclusion. The researchers received sufficient evidence for physical violence and ill-treatment of residents from part of the orderlies, which was categorically denied by the personnel.

Another cause for concern is the medical treatment available to the residents - there is only a senior nurse available. The institution's director said that the Topolovgrad Hospital does not want to admit patients from the institution. One of residents who had a broken limb had been returned from the Topolovgrad Hospital with the explanation that he needed an operation which could not be carried out in this hospital. Another resident, who was in need of a blood transfusion, had to have someone from the personnel donate blood. (Information as at June 2002)