The Institution of Human Rights Ombudsman of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) has identified a number of weaknesses in all institutions in BiH for the accommodation of persons with intellectual and mental disabilities when it comes to the standards and treatment of these persons.
Unqualified staff
Due to the lack of standards in treatment, the Institutions for the accommodation of persons with mental disabilities in BiH often employ personnel who are not sufficiently qualified and who cannot follow their needs. This was said by the Ombudswoman of BiH before the meeting with institutions for housing people with mental disabilities.
“In four Federal institutions Pazaric, Drin, Stolac, Bakovici, and two in the Republika Srpska (RS), Jakes and Sokolac, we have a situation where the institutions are without health care, and at the same time they provide therapy, they do not have adequate treatment, except through a doctor under the work contract,” claims Jasminka Dzumhur, Ombudswoman of BiH.
Legally unregulated accommodation
From the Bakovici Institute, they presented their problem caused by the practice in the Central Bosnia Canton (CBC) when it comes to the transfer of people with mental disabilities to a health facility, and the non-implementation of the verdict, which was adopted by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)in November 2015 in the case of Hadzimejlic and Others v. BiH. The verdict indicates that the existing legislation inadequately regulates the accommodation of these persons.
“We have had a case where municipal courts pass decisions in out-of-court proceedings that require the forced placement of certain persons in an institution, but the Bakovici Institute is a social protection institution which, according to the law, cannot carry out coercion because it can only be carried out in health care institutions,” points out social worker from the Bakovici Institute Marinela Maric-Sako.
There is a lack of qualified staff in all institutions for the care of people with mental disabilities. Who actually takes care of these people? The ombudsman institution pointed out that it is necessary to solve these problems in coordination with the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Health, because everyone deserves the best possible conditions for life.
E.Dz.
