The gap after a referral
A medical concern can be known to a parent, doctor, hotline and caseworker without a completed appointment. The administrative claim we reviewed alleges exactly that gap: recommended examinations remained outstanding although services and insurance were available and authorities had been contacted. [1]
We examine the handovers between people and institutions. Was the urgency understood? Was a worker assigned to follow up? Did anyone verify what the child actually received?
Health is part of protection, not a separate file
Article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child concerns access to health care. Georgia’s social-work framework includes health-related support and cooperation. Our focus is whether these obligations connect in practice when the child cannot arrange care independently. [2] [3]
A dispute about residence, an unavailable caregiver or an inconclusive psychological assessment should prompt a practical response to the immediate health need, not an indefinite wait for another proceeding.
No care gap when a case changes hands
A change of home, school or responsible worker should not break an outstanding medical referral. We propose that the receiving service confirm which appointments remain due and who will help the child attend. The handover should protect necessary clinical confidentiality while making responsibility clear.
The same applies when a family member, school or hotline raises a concern. A caseworker should record the concern, obtain the relevant professional advice and explain the action within their competence. Where a court decision or another service is needed, the file should show who was asked, by when, and what followed.
Our priorities
We press for a responsible person and timeframe for every necessary follow-up, a check on attendance and an escalation route when care remains unavailable. Clinical decisions belong to qualified health professionals; case management should remove the practical obstacles to carrying them out.
We invite clinicians, social workers and families to help identify recurring failures in referral and follow-up. The aim is a system that can show completed care, not only correspondence.
Legal sources & references
- Anonymised administrative claim reviewed by Child Rights Georgia.
- Convention on the Rights of the Child — Articles 3, 8, 9, 12, 16, 19, 24, 28 and 29
- Law of Georgia on Social Work — Articles 10, 15–20, 27–30; Georgian consolidated text
