The International Children’s Safety Service has cancelled their Szeklerland tour scheduled for May 11–18, because the College of Physicians in Romania has failed to issue in time the operational licenses requested for their activity.
“We are aware that thousands of children and a few dozen healthcare institutions are waiting for us to arrive, so we apologize for the inconvenience caused by the cancelled trip,” the press release issued by the Safety Service reads.
The reason for the cancellation is that the College of Physicians in Romania has failed to issue in time the documents required on the territory of the European Union. If a doctor wishes to volunteer in another EU country, the host country’s consent is required, but in Romania the notarized documents aren’t enough, as they need to be legalized (endorsed/certified, again by a Romanian notary).
“Since its inception, the Safety Service always complied with the legal terms of the country they visited, so we will comply with the Romanian regulations. Since our first trip in 1991 we have started our medical tour by announcing our arrival and schedule, and asked for legal permission for our activity. In the 1990s we consulted with the Ministry of Health, but that task has been taken over by the College of Physicians in Romania since the 2000s,” the Safety Service said.
While help came from the Harghita County Council and other parties, they couldn’t speed up the issue of the required permits in time, which resulted in failure to meet the deadlines set for the trip. “Unfortunately, we cannot examine the kids, cannot prescribe medical accessories, and cannot start many surgeries on time.”
The next trip is schedule for October 2019. Those parents who have unsolved medical problems can write an email to the Safety Service’s email address: ngysz@gyerekmento.hu.
Title image: screenshot of the International Children’s Safety Service website
