"The 'grey area' of the law: children in Luxembourg blocked from access to rehabilitation

The sudden cessation of rehabilitation treatment for children at Luxembourg's National Centre for Functional Rehabilitation (Rehazenter) came as an alarming surprise to many families. Parents report: sessions have been cancelled, there are no new appointments, and official explanations are minimal. For children like Emma, therapy at the centre was not only a physical support, but also the basis for psychological balance. Now she and other patients are left to either wait for the unknown or seek help abroad.

As RTL has learnt, the reason for stopping children's rehabilitation is... the wording of the law. In the current version of the hospital law, the Rehazenter is legally defined in Annex 2 as an institution providing rehabilitation care for adults with neurological, cardiological or musculoskeletal disorders. There is no mention of children. This clause in the text creates a legal grey area, which now has quite tangible consequences.

There is simply no alternative centre in the country providing children with a similar quality of treatment. "We don't know what to do. Travelling abroad is the only option," one of the families admitted to RTL.

The solution, experts suggest, lies on the surface: it is enough to remove the word "adult" from the text of the law to reopen the centre's doors to everyone who needs it - regardless of age.

The ministries have not yet given an official answer. But one question is getting louder and louder: how long can the fates of children be kept in limbo because of formal oversight?

RTL has promised to continue to seek clarification from the authorities - and parents can only hope that common sense will prevail over the letter of the law.