Poiana Mare Psychiatric Hospital

Poiana Mare Psychiatric Hospital (Spitalul de Psihiatrie Poiana Mare) is a public psychiatric hospital located in Poiana Mare, Dolj County, Romania. It operates as a state institution within the Romanian public health system and provides inpatient and ambulatory psychiatric care. Its official website presents the hospital as a public institution with sections for patient information, admission and hospitalization conditions, visiting hours, transparency and public-interest information, medical waste collection information, patient ethics and feedback, health education and prevention, and GDPR compliance. The site lists the hospital address as Strada Gării nr. 40, Poiana Mare, Dolj County, with secretariat and ambulatory telephone contacts. The hospital has long been in the public eye. According to Romanian Wikipedia, before 1989 it was used to intern patients who did not share the vision of the Romanian Communist Party. In the 2000s it became the subject of national and international controversy after reports that large numbers of patients died from hunger and cold. In February 2004, the Centrul de Resurse Juridice (CRJ) appealed for authorities to remedy the tragic situation, stating that 17 people had died of hunger and cold since the beginning of 2004 and another 84 had died from similar causes during 2003. The hospital director, Florina Pesa, was dismissed by then health minister Ovidiu Brânzan after his visit. In June 2005, then culture minister Eugen Nicolăescu announced the closure of the hospital. An investigation was opened, but in 2005 the designated prosecutor, Ilie Botoș, decided to close it; Amnesty International welcomed prosecutors' initiative to reopen it, but the investigation was still unfinished in 2010. In December 2009, CRJ and Interights filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg on behalf of five patients who died at the hospital in January–February 2004. On 17 July 2014, the ECHR condemned Romania in the case of 19-year-old Valentin Câmpeanu, who died in 2004 at the hospital, and ordered the state to pay 10,000 euros to CRJ and 25,000 euros to Interights. Despite the announced closure and the controversies, the hospital's official website remains active and continues to publish patient information, admission requirements, visiting schedules, and transparency materials, indicating that it continues to function as a public psychiatric care provider in Dolj County. The hospital's identity is therefore dual: a local public health institution serving psychiatric patients, and a symbol in Romanian and European debates over the treatment of institutionalized psychiatric patients and the protection of their rights.

Poiana Mare Psychiatric Hospital is a public psychiatric hospital in Poiana Mare, Dolj County, Romania. Its early history is not documented in the supplied evidence, but Romanian Wikipedia states that before 1989 the hospital was used to intern patients who did not share the vision of the Romanian Communist Party. This period established the institution's reputation as a place of confinement as much as care, and it remained in the public eye thereafter. The most severe controversies emerged in the early 2000s. In February 2004, the Centrul de Resurse Juridice (CRJ), a non-governmental organization advocating for human rights and the rule of law, issued an urgent appeal to Romanian authorities to remedy the tragic situation at the hospital. According to the appeal, 17 people had died of hunger and cold since the beginning of 2004, and another 84 had died from similar causes during 2003. The hospital director, Florina Pesa, was dismissed by then health minister Ovidiu Brânzan after his visit to the hospital. In June 2005, Eugen Nicolăescu, then minister of culture, announced the closure of the psychiatric hospital. An investigation was opened, but in 2005 the designated prosecutor, Ilie Botoș, decided to close it. Shortly afterward, Amnesty International welcomed prosecutors' initiative to reopen the investigation, but the investigation was still unfinished in 2010. In December 2009, CRJ and Interights filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg on behalf of five patients who died at the hospital in January–February 2004. On 17 July 2014, the ECHR condemned Romania in the case of 19-year-old Valentin Câmpeanu, who died in 2004 at the hospital. The court ordered the state to pay 10,000 euros to CRJ and 25,000 euros to Interights. These events made the hospital a reference point in Romanian and European debates about the treatment of institutionalized psychiatric patients and the protection of their rights. Despite the announced closure and the controversies, the hospital's official website remains active. It presents the institution as a functioning public hospital with sections for patient information, admission and hospitalization conditions, visiting hours, transparency and public-interest information, medical waste collection, patient ethics and feedback, health education and prevention, and GDPR compliance. The site lists the address as Strada Gării nr. 40, Poiana Mare, Dolj County, with secretariat and ambulatory telephone contacts. The hospital therefore continues to operate as a public psychiatric care provider in Dolj County, while carrying the legacy of its troubled past.

• Hospital used to intern patients who did not share the vision of the Romanian Communist Party.

• CRJ appeals to authorities; reports 17 deaths from hunger and cold since start of 2004 and 84 similar deaths in 2003.

• Director Florina Pesa dismissed by health minister Ovidiu Brânzan after his visit.

• Minister Eugen Nicolăescu announces closure of the hospital.

• Prosecutor Ilie Botoș decides to close the investigation; Amnesty International later welcomes initiative to reopen it.

• CRJ and Interights file ECHR complaint on behalf of five patients who died in January–February 2004.

• ECHR condemns Romania in Valentin Câmpeanu case; orders payments of 10,000 euros to CRJ and 25,000 euros to Interights.

Public psychiatric hospital within the Romanian state health system, serving Dolj County and surrounding areas.

• Inpatient psychiatric care

  Hospitalization and treatment for psychiatric patients, subject to admission requirements including a referral from a family doctor or specialist, proof of insured status, and identity documents.

• Ambulatory psychiatric services

  Outpatient psychiatric care provided by the hospital's ambulatory service.

• Patient deaths from hunger and cold

• ECHR condemnation in Valentin Câmpeanu case

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• Announcement of hospital closureOther

• Prosecutor closes investigationOther

1. 1Official websitespitalpoianamare.ro
2. 2Wikidata entrywikidata.org
3. 3Spitalul de Psihiatrie Poiana Mare - Wikipediaro.wikipedia.org