Ombudsman criticises child psychiatric facilities…

Ombudsman Pavel Varvařovský has criticised psychiatric facilities for impeding contact between child patients and their parents. In his report for 2011, the ombudsman writes that the children’s stay in such facilities does not mean that contact with their parents can be prohibited or limited. One such facility reportedly allowed telephone contact between children and their parents only for an hour and a half period during which 25 children had one phone available. Mobile phones were not allowed in a number of institutions. The ombudsman plans to deliver a summary report on children’s psychiatric facilities, including his recommendations, this year.