About two weeks ago, Gun-Mari Sjölund had to go into the hospital urgently again. She is in a wheelchair, is almost completely blind, and has recurring problems with intestinal upset due to an intestinal disease.
– I was very bad. I hardly knew where I was and ended up in a corridor. That’s where I got the spoon, because they ran out of places with alarms, Gun-Mari Sjölund tells TV4 Nyheterna.
Instead of being able to raise the alarm with the push of a button, Gun-Mari was asked to tap the spoon against the bed rail.
– Because I felt so bad, I didn’t think much about it at the time, she says.
“No One Heard”
The first night, Gun-Mari vomited a lot and tried to get the staff’s attention with the spoon, without success.
The following morning she was moved and then given a small bell to use. When Gun-Mari again needed help, it was futile.
– I used both the spoon and the bell, but the staff didn’t hear it, she says, and explains that in the end it became very unpleasant:
– You get sad and worried if something were to happen, that no one would hear. You can shout, but it might not be heard either. I felt so bad that I threw up all the time, and then you can’t bear to think about anything else.
“No one believed me”
Gun-Mari’s husband was in the hospital with her part of the time, and today they are happy that they photographed the stage.
– It was a strange situation. It was very unique and I have never experienced anything like it. So if the man hadn’t snapped at me, no one would have believed me.
It was P4 Västernorrland who first reported on what happened to Gun-Mari at Sundsvall hospital. The 77-year-old now wants to emphasize that she is not angry with the staff, but that the management should act.
– I don’t want to complain about the staff because they do their best. The girl who gave me the spoon was caring and just trying to resolve the situation. It is the management that should react to this sort of thing, she says.
TV4 Nyheterna has applied for Maria Strandberg, director of health and medical care in Region Västernorrland.
– We have tried to make the care as good as possible and as patient-safe as possible, with the staff we had this summer, says Maria Strandberg to P4 Västernorrland.