Three-Year-Old Sophie Fights for Her Life While Authorities Deny Home Care, Forcing Family to Use Public Transport with Oxygen Tank

A three-year-old girl named Sophie, who requires supplemental oxygen to survive, has been left without adequate institutional support after Slovak social services authorities denied her family home care assistance, effectively forcing them to transport the critically ill child on public transit with a portable oxygen tank. Sophie's case has drawn public attention to the consequences of Slovakia's ongoing social services reform, which critics say has created gaps in care for the country's most vulnerable residents. Under the reformed system, families with severely ill children have reportedly struggled to access the in-home support they previously relied upon, leaving parents to manage complex medical needs without professional assistance. Slovakia's social services sector has been undergoing significant restructuring in recent years, with changes to eligibility criteria and funding models that advocacy groups and families say have reduced access to care rather than improving it. Sophie's situation has become a symbol of broader frustrations with the reform, with critics — including social workers, disability advocates, and opposition politicians — arguing that the overhaul prioritizes cost-cutting over the welfare of children and adults with serious medical conditions. Calls are growing for the government to urgently review the reform's impact on the most vulnerable cases.