Nencheva And Others v Bulgaria: ECHR 18 Jun 2013

The Court was concerned with State-run care homes where appallingly substandard conditions had been tolerated over a significant period. Nencheva involved a municipal home for children with severe mental disorders. The Fourth Section said:
‘The Court therefore takes it as established that the public authorities, at several levels, had exact knowledge of the reality of the danger as regards the state of health of the children living in the Dzhurkovo home. The Court notes that the headmistress had incessantly pointed out the seriousness of the living conditions and the difficulty of providing the children with the necessary care, and called for the help of numerous public or humanitarian structures (see paragraphs 32-37 above). The Court therefore takes it as established that the public authorities, at several levels, had exact knowledge of the reality of the danger as regards the state of health of the children living in the Dzhurkovo home. Moreover, at that time the mortality rate in the home was considerably higher than usual.
It should then be noted that – and this is a crucial element in the case – the occurrence of the tragic events was not sudden, one-off and unforeseen, as in the case of an event of force majeure to which the State might not be able to cope. The cases of death followed one another and the drama of the home was thus spread over time. Indeed, fifteen children and young adults, seven of whom were the children of the applicants, died between 15 December 1996 and 14 March 1997, that is to say during a period of approximately three months. This element should have seemed suspicious at the very least and required an explanation.’

Citations:

48609/06 – Chamber Judgment (French Text), [2013] ECHR 554

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

European Convention on Human Rights

Jurisdiction:

Human Rights

Cited by:

CitedGardner and Another, Regina (on The Application of) v Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and Others Admn 27-Apr-2022
Patient transfer policy was unlawful
The claimants had relatives who died in care homes early in the COVID-19 pandemic. They said that the policy of moving patients from hospitals to care homes without testing had contributed to the deaths, and many others, and had been unlawful. The . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Human Rights

Updated: 28 April 2022; Ref: scu.510982