After the Tragedy in Agárd - The Ombudsman's Proposal to Improve the Child Protection Notification System

The paediatrician has not fulfilled his obligation prescribed by the Child Protection Act, states the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights in his report concluding his inquiries into the case of a child starved to death in the city of Agárd.

The Commissioner for Fundamental Rights has conducted an ex officio inquiry into the activities of the child welfare service, the district nurse and the family paediatrician in connection with the case of a child starved to death. Since the social and guardianship office commenced proceedings against the child welfare service, and the specialized public health agency of the local administration launched an investigation into the activities of the health service providers, Ombudsman Máté Szabó has requested to be briefed on the results of their proceedings and the actions they had taken or were about to take.

Neither the supervising authorities, nor the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights could uncover any negligence on the part of the district nurse and the child welfare service. The self-employed paediatrician attended the child during the first nine month of the little boy's life and administered all the prescribed vaccinations. Afterwards he talked to the boy's grandfather on the phone on two occasions – the family has not contacted him ever since. Although the paediatrician found the loss of contact disquieting, he failed to comply with his statutory obligation to notify thereof the competent authorities. The Commissioner for Fundamental Rights has established that the paediatrician's negligence infringed the child's rights to protection and care and, ultimately, to life.

This case has also demonstrated that the actors of the child protection notification system may face such, previously unheard of, phenomena and problems whose solution is not yet facilitated by methodological guidelines. The tragedy has raised the question whether the fact, that a well-off family wants to raise a child isolated from the outside world, should be in itself enough to suspect the endangerment of the child and, therefore, substantiate the state's intervention. One may wonder if in such cases the parents might be compelled to cooperate with the child protection agencies and the authorities.

The Commissioner deems necessary to expand the scope of and refine the existing methodological guidelines and to revise the relevant legislation. Failing to do so would lead to the insufficient implementation of the child's right to protection on the part of the state and the society and, as a result, to the violation of the principle of proceedings serving the child's interest. Máté Szabó has proposed to the Minister of Human Resources, among others, to prepare new and update the existing methodological guidelines and to consider the codification of the obligation to make use of the district nurses' service. The Commissioner has also requested the Chief Medical Officer as the professional supervisor of the paediatrician concerned to launch an investigation into the physician's activities and to take the necessary measures.

The Hungarian text of the report may be found at

http://www.ajbh.hu/documents/10180/111959/201303039.pdf