The police about the Sis home: “Lack of competence”

On large placards, the girls from inside the Sis home appealed for help.

Now a police officer, an ambulance worker and a sociologist share their experiences of contact with Sis.

– I am worried that the girls there do not get the care they need, says sociologist Susanne Stjerndorff.

Many have contacted Aftonbladet after the publication of the girls’ stories from inside the state-run Sis home Rebecka.

Now we share testimonies from three people who visited the institution in their work.

A social worker, a police officer and an ambulance paramedic.

Sociologist: I’m worried about the girls

Susanne Stjerndorff applied for a job at Sis home Rebecka with the desire to make a difference for the group of young girls who feel the worst.

– During my years as a counselor in adult psychiatry, I had met many women who are broken due to exposure in childhood. When I saw that Sis was looking for staff, I became curious about applying there, says Susanne Stjerndorff.

She was called to an initial interview with the head of unit and deputy head of unit.

– It was a nice and good interview. I gained a lot of trust in both people who felt competent.

After that, there was an interview with the work team, which was represented by what Susanne describes as two young muscular men.

– It was a terrible experience. I barely had time to sit on the chair before they asked if I had experience with restraints. All they focused on during the interview was talking about how difficult the girls were and how physically demanding it was.

In the interview, Susanne talked about her many years of experience in psychiatry, where the focus is on adapting the environment and treatment to curb outbreaks.

– But I got the feeling that they weren’t interested at all. I asked questions about how they worked in practical terms with care, but the only thing they wanted to talk about was the physical. I was so shocked by what they said that I kind of lost the thread.

Susanne Stjerndorff chose to remain in her current job. Later, she turned to Ivo to tell about her experience.

– I felt a discomfort when I left, that I don’t want to work with these two people. But above all I thought of the girls. I’m worried about what kind of care they actually get in there.

David Söderman is head of department at Si’s youth center Rebecka. Regarding Susanne Stjerndoff’s criticism of the importance of being physically strong as a Sis employee, he says:

– We have all possible staff groups. It’s not that everyone needs to be physically strong, but you have to know that it can be part of the job. Some have adopted some form of technology in our interviews where you describe the worst possible scenario to see if there is a person who can work in the business. Because sometimes violence and threats occur and then you need to be able to act for the safety of all staff, and also the safety of the young people. But the starting point is that we work with low affectivity, says David Söderman.

The police: The staff lacks competence

In mid-August this year, several police patrols were urgently alerted to a department at Rebecka. According to reports, three young people have barricaded themselves and refused to let staff in.

“I took part in one of the patrols that intervened. Shortly after we arrived, it could be established that no crime had been committed. However, it was obvious that there are structural problems in the department,” the police wrote to IVO the same night.

The police also say that the lock on a door at the institution could not be opened, and that the staff knew it was broken without taking any measures.

“Not quite optimal given that the girl who barricaded herself had self-harming behavior and had de facto cut herself.”

Once the girl got out, it became the police’s job to take care of the child’s injuries.

“Staff showed no interest in looking for medical supplies or otherwise being helpful with dressing wounds, but this was handled by the police and staff from another department.”

It also turned out that there was a lack of material for dressing wounds, in the ward that looked after self-harming young people. The police were allowed to use their own limited equipment.

“My conclusion is that the staff in the department lacks competence/experience in dealing with this type of young people.”

David Söderman, head of department at Rebecka, is well aware of the incident to which the police testify and says that IVO was on site for an inspection.

– This happened during the summer, when unfortunately in all operations we have to offer nursing staff vacation. Then there will be a large proportion of temporary workers. This happened in a newly started department where the operations were not really organized and we know that. We have also made a report to the Swedish Work Environment Agency, says David Söderman.

Paramedics: How can it look like this?

The paramedic who contacted Aftonbladet does not work at the unit that has Rebecka as a catchment area. Because there are so many alarms there, however, he has been there several times. He wishes to remain anonymous to be able to speak freely.

– It’s always a bit of a strange feeling to get there. It’s like a prison for children with high fences and barbed wire. Very worn. And the girls we meet feel terribly bad.

According to the alarm to Ivo, there have been several serious suicide attempts on Rebecka in a short time, which in addition to an ambulance also required the call of an ambulance helicopter.

– I have been on call at Rebecka where children have injured themselves in absolutely terrible ways just to get out and receive treatment in hospital instead. In many of the cases, BUP has given up on the children and refers to them receiving care at Rebecka, but the girls say they are not getting the care they need and I feel a concern for them.

The ambulance employee says that he also met fantastic staff at Rebecka, but that they are understaffed and have a far too tough working situation. With the great care needs of young people, more trained personnel are required. He draws parallels to other types of healthcare.

– I can’t imagine that in pediatric cancer care it would have been allowed for a child, due to a lack of resources, to only receive a small part of the evidence-based treatment they need to get healthy. With the girls at Rebecka, it’s exactly like that. Everyone knows that they need more comprehensive psychiatric care, but neither Sis nor BUP have the resources. How can we in Sweden allow it to look like this?

David Söderman, head of institution at Rebecka, says that they are aware that it is a difficult experience for young people to be placed in a lockable institution.

– We try to make the best of the situation with us. We have a developed collaboration with psychiatry and also integrated care. When it comes to emergency medical care, we obviously make sure that the young people get it if needed. We make sure to solve the staffing problem, but we don’t have any amount of resources.

He knows that young people harm themselves to get to BUP and out of the institution.

– There can be several reasons why they want to join BUP. It could be that they want a change of environment, because they have been with us for quite a long time and that is understandable. Sometimes they think they can get care that they can’t get here.