Paediatricians protest infant homes' abolition

Prague, Sept 30 (CTK) - Representatives of Czech paediatricians' professional associations ask the health and labour and social affairs ministers to halt the prepared abolition of infant homes for children under three years, they said in a statement released to CTK Friday.

Experts sent it to the respective two ministers and to the heads of the health and social committees of the lower and upper houses of parliament.

"We consider this step precipitous, premature, unprepared and at variance with the interests of children placed in these facilities," experts write in the statement signed by representatives of the association of paediatricians, neonatologists and child's general practitioners and the association of social pediatrics.

The Labour and Social Affairs Ministry rejected the criticism.

Its spokeswoman says the ministry, on the contrary, wants children to be raised in families instead of ending up in institutions.

International organisations have repeatedly criticised the Czech Republic for a too high number of children in institutional care.

There are 34 infant homes in the 10.5-million country. Last year over 2000 children stayed in them. UNICEF, representing children's rights, has called on the Czech Republic to abolish these facilities.

The Labour and Social Affairs Ministry plans to more support foster families and abolish infant homes that are now administered by the Health Ministry. They may be transferred to the Labour Ministry's agenda as from 2012 and completely abolished in 2014.

Child's doctors say they support alternative family care but they do not agree with abolishing the infant homes before creating a new system. I would be logical to do it vice versa, they argue.

They point to the risk of keeping unwanted small children at the hospital neonatal and child wards longer after the abolition of infant homes. Moreover, in infant homes, babies are mainly provided with health care, which might be limited after these facilities are transferred to the Labour Ministry.

Representatives of paediatricians complain that the planned step was not discussed with experts first.

The respective change to the bill on health services was proposed in the Chamber of Deputies only but it was not included in it eventually.

However, child's doctors expressed fears that the proposal would be submitted in a similar wording some other time.

paediatricians' representatives would therefore like to discuss the issue with the health and labour ministers and explain their stances to them.