Gyurkó Szilvia heads new board to improve care for children stranded in hospitals

A new professional advisory and coordination body for children left in hospitals has been established, with Gyurkó Szilvia serving as its chair. Members will be drawn from the social, child-welfare and health ministries, the Országos Kórházi Főigazgatóság, the fővárosi kormányhivatal, the Szociális és Gyermekvédelmi Főigazgatóság, the Országos Gyermekvédelmi Szakszolgálat and other appointed experts, plus ten civil-society representatives.

The unpaid panel will convene at least every three months, requiring a quorum of more than half its members. Its mandate includes analysing why children cannot return to families, recommending swift placement solutions, assessing the feasibility of a “Pöttömke Bölcsőde” daycare for hospitalised youngsters, drafting protocols and suggesting legislative changes. Currently about 301 children, mainly in Budapest and eastern Hungary, remain in hospitals because parents cannot bring them home. A recent amendment to the child-protection law obliges guardians to complete a full assessment and action plan within eight days when a child no longer needs medical care, prioritising return to the biological family, then relatives, and finally foster or adoptive care.