Below is the letter sent by the director of the documentary, Kate Blewett, to the Bulgarian ambassador.
Your Excellency,
We are producing a television documentary for BBC FOUR. The programme is scheduled for broadcast in the UK on September 13th at 10pm.
The programme examines why Bulgaria has the highest number of physically and mentally disabled children growing up in institutes anywhere in Europe, by following the lives of a group of children in one particular Institute, Mogilino Social Care Home, over a period of 9 months.
The programme raises serious concern about the physical and emotional neglect of children in state care in Bulgaria, which, I am sure that you will agree, are matters that are very much in the public interest to explore and debate.
The programme was made with the assistance of the Helsinki Committee, and the Institute at which we filmed was, in their expert opinion, representative of conditions across Bulgaria - neither the best nor the worst. The film is now nearing completion and in the interests of fairness and accuracy we would like to give you the opportunity to comment on the following:
1. The degree to which responsibility for conditions in such Institutions lies with the individual Directors, or with the relevant government departments:-
We observed severe physical neglect. In one case a child's leg was broken, and carers seemed oblivious to the great distress they were causing the child by manhandling it with a broken leg. In other cases children became visibly thinner and weaker over the months of filming. Three children died during the period of filming.
The Director of the Institute said she chose the children's diets and that they were adequate. Yet the nurse said the children were suffering from malnutrition as a result of inadequate diets.
2. The lack of any form of rehabilitation, education or other intellectual or physical stimulation:-
The Institute has a rehabilitation room of sorts, but in all the time we were filming we never saw the children being given any form of physical therapy. The Director told us that this was because she does not have funding for any form of therapist.
3. The policies the govt. has to prevent child abuse in such Institutions.
As well as observing the physical abuse of children by workers, we were also made aware of allegations of sexual abuse. We also observed that there was no policy of assigning same sex workers to supervise teenage boys and girls during showering. As a result on more than one occasion we observed men in charge of a roomful of naked adolescent girls. Does the govt. believe this is acceptable?
4. The policy with respect to re-examination.
We observed that many of the children had been given diagnoses such as "oligophrenia" at a very young age. According to their medical records and the Institute Director, this diagnosis had never been reviewed. Helsinki Committee informed us that the absence of re-examination is a widespread throughout the mental health estate in Bulgaria. As a result, many children face a lifetime of institutionalisation as a result of a diagnosis made very early in life. Does the govt. feel this situation is acceptable?
We hope that you will agree that our film deals with matters of legitimate public concern upon which you will, no doubt, want to comment.
In order to give the Bulgarian Government the opportunity to respond to these matters we invite you to provide us with your written response as soon as possible. In any event we would appreciate your response by Thursday 6th September.
