89-year-old pinched in the chest at nursing home – no action taken

When 89-year-old Ingrid Eriksson was being transferred from her wheelchair to her bed at the Dragonen nursing home in Umeå in March last year, she reports that an employee pinched her in the chest.

The incident affected the pensioner both physically and mentally. Afterwards, the 89-year-old woman was in pain for an extended period.

– I was in pain for a long time, it throbbed in my chest all the time, she told SR.

Ingrid told the responsible manager what had happened. However, in the incident report that was later written, it was not documented that staff had touched her chest. The event was only described as staff having hurt her.

According to Ingrid, the manager later decided not to take any action against the involved staff member. The reason was said to be that Ingrid was unsure who in the staff group had pinched her, since there was a new person at the home.

At the same time, she feels that the incident has not been investigated or dealt with in a sufficiently clear way.

Dodging questions

Jim Lindberg, head of operations for care and nursing homes in Umeå municipality, does not want to comment on the individual case.

At the same time, he emphasizes that the municipality has a responsibility for the safety of the residents and that situations where the elderly feel unsafe need to be taken seriously.

– We cannot comment on individual cases, but the municipality needs to act if residents do not feel safe, he told SR.