The decision to offer Jeanette, who has Alzheimer’s, accommodation in Nässjö, 300 kilometers from Stockholm, cannot be appealed. It arouses strong criticism from relatives, who believe that it is a betrayal of their rights and Jeanette’s need for closeness and security.
– It is strange how Haninge municipality procured housing for Alzheimer’s patients that is so far away. If it was housing for drug addicts, there is a logic in being far away, says Carolin Samuelsson, daughter of Jeanette.
An isolation from the most valuable
The entire family and relatives live in Stockholm and have no connection to Nässjö. The placement means that Jeanette will be isolated from those closest to her, which, according to the daughter, will negatively affect both Jeanette’s and the family’s quality of life.
– Mother needs closeness to us. Placing her four hours away makes it impossible for us to visit her regularly. It’s not just her who loses, but us as a family, says Carolin Samuelsson.
Jeanette has already been offered a place in an accommodation in Sköndal, which is close to her daily activities and would meet all her needs. Despite this, the municipality refuses to approve the site with reference to its framework agreements.
Sacrificed for pennies
– It feels like the municipality is sacrificing my mother for pennies, says daughter Carolin, who tried to get the municipality to reconsider the decision.
But according to the municipality’s housing coordinator, it is not possible to appeal the decision, and the family has to choose between Nässjö or the mother staying at home with the help of home care.
– My mother can’t take care of herself at home. The disease has escalated in the past year. Home care is not enough for her, says daughter Carolin.
“Just a name on a piece of paper”
To TV4 Nyheterna, Sofie Sterner, director of administration at the health and care office in Haninge municipality, writes that at the time of the application there were no vacancies in the Stockholm area and that Jeanette was therefore placed in accommodation in Nässjö.
One alternative, she believes, is to turn down the placement and, while waiting for a place to become available in the Stockholm area, receive the support at home that the municipality can offer. For the accommodation in Sköndal, Haninge municipality lacks an agreement and Sofie Sterner says that the mother cannot therefore be placed there.
“… on the other hand, we have had contact with the other accommodation in the Stockholm region with which we have an agreement. They will let us know if there is an empty place that we can offer to the individual,” she writes to TV4 Nyheterna.
Carolin believes that within the municipality there is not enough knowledge about the mother’s diagnosis to make a decision on the matter. According to the daughter, the municipality is staring blindly at the existing framework agreements.
– My mother does not appear as a person, but she becomes just a name on a piece of paper around which they make decisions.