Carers saw but did not act • “The investigation must show what has happened”
The women are both residents of Svedala municipality, and the misbehavior should have led to two lex Sarah reports, writes Sydsvenskan.
It was when a social worker visited the women’s homes at the beginning of the summer that the disastrous living conditions were discovered. In the first case, with a wheelchair-bound woman, the social worker is said to have been met by a home with large amounts of rat droppings – in cupboards and drawers, on the floors and in the patient’s bed.
Furthermore, the wheelchair-bound woman is said to have told the social worker that she could not leave the home due to a high threshold, and that she could barely get to the toilet on her own. She allegedly showed wounds and told that rats had bitten her while she was sleeping.
The pests are also said to have attacked the woman’s food, which she tried to protect by storing the food in wrapped containers.
The social secretary has made the assessment of the woman’s state of health that she is susceptible to infection and that the living situation therefore poses serious risks to her health.
In the lex Sarah reports, the social secretary writes that both the case manager who granted interventions at the woman’s home and the home service that carried them out must have known about the misery for a long time, when they had been at the woman’s home on several occasions. No one should have reacted to the woman’s conditions at home, reports Sydsvenskan
“A sanitary nuisance”
In the second case, the social secretary must have discovered that a care-dependent woman has a home that can be described as “a sanitary nuisance”.
The same case manager who in the first case must also have granted support measures for this woman, and must, together with other involved staff, have been aware of the unsustainable housing situation for a long time. According to the report, the case manager must have referred to the fact that “the client is happy with the situation in his home”, which is described as “totally destroyed”. No one should have reported or otherwise acted to help the woman.
According to the social secretary’s assessment, the woman should have received help much earlier and that she had long been in need of other care interventions.
According to Sydsvenskan, the women in both cases must now have received other types of accommodation.
Svedala municipality’s response
Joakim Thuresson, head of authority at Svedala municipality, has read the lex Sarah reports. He believes that the situation for the women is in no way desirable, but at the same time states that he has not received any information about rats from people who worked at the care recipient.
– Home care staff have been there and cleaned every two weeks, they have not reported any defects because they have not discovered anything. Here, the investigation can show what has happened, says Joakim Thuresson to Sydsvenskan.
If the information in the reports turns out to be correct, Joakim Thuresson believes that it is very serious that the home care staff did not pass the information on.
The second case, with the woman whose home was described as “totally destroyed”, is, however, more complicated according to the head of the authority.
– This was not a dignified living situation. Therefore, for a long time we have offered other accommodation, but the person has chosen to decline the offers that have been available. We cannot force anyone to move to another accommodation, says Joakim Thuresson to Sydsvenskan.