Regional health authorities explain «medical reasons» for tying up babies in Mykolaiv baby home, where Ombudsman found violations

The regional health department explained that the tying of babies in the Mykolaiv baby home was done for «medical reasons» and was in line with the recommendations of specialists.

This was reported by the Health Department of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration on Facebook.

In particular, the department explained that tying the babies to the chairs was necessary for their safety during meals.

«The fixation of children with special needs and birth defects during feeding was used exclusively for medical reasons to ensure their safety, prevent aspiration (food entering the respiratory tract) and effective feeding. There are clear recommendations from level 4 specialists for such medical manipulations with these children, which were followed. Such methods are used in cases where other feeding methods are unsafe or impossible, taking into account the health status of children and their special needs,» the department explained.

NikVesti tried to get a comment on who made the decision to use the methods of tying children in the baby home and on what grounds it was done, but we were unable to contact the head of the department, Iryna Tkachenko.

Scandal in the reorganised baby home in Mykolaiv

On 3 March, it became known that the monitoring group of the Ombudsman's Office, together with NGOs, had inspected children's educational institutions in the Mykolaiv region and found gross violations of children's rights. The children were fixed with belts to chairs and strollers, and a six-month-old baby suffered swelling from «binding». In other institutions, children were given expired medicines, did not receive medical care and had limited access to basic services.

On the same day, Inna Miroshnychenko, an orphan rights activist and lawyer, showed the conditions in which children live in the reorganised Centre for Medical Rehabilitation and Palliative Care in Mykolaiv (Regional Children's Home). She actually showed the children tied to armchairs, who are not allowed to go for walks and are forced to spend time watching TV.

The human rights activist said that according to the conditions, 89 staff members are supposed to take care of the children. However, as it turned out from the data of the Ombudsman's Office monitoring team, only two employees were looking after the children. She called the conditions in which the children were kept inhumane.

At the same time, none of the officials and deputies of the Mykolaiv region commented on the situation. Although the editorial board of NikVesti tried to get a comment on the situation from representatives of the local authorities.

However, the scandal was commented on by the mayor of Mykolaiv , Oleksandr Sienkevych. The mayor added that although the city is not directly involved in the institution, the issue is already under the control of the regional council. He also reminded that the city has a Children's Service that actively deals with adoption and guardianship issues and supports family-type orphanages.

It should be noted that in April 2024, the Centre for Medical Rehabilitation and Palliative Care was merged with the Mykolaiv Regional Children's Hospital. At the time, this decision was explained by the need to «protect» the institution from lack of funding.

We would also like to remind you that this is not the first scandalous case involving the Mykolaiv Oblast Children's Hospital. Back in July 2023, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the hospital was in poor condition during his visit to Mykolaiv.

In one of the wards, Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that the room was not adapted for a comfortable stay. In particular, the ward lacked curtain rods, curtains, and air conditioning.