Despite having home care services and supposed to be visited regularly, the man lived in squalor. It turned out he had been forgotten for an extended period of time. How this could happen will now be investigated.
It was one night in February when a home care team received an alarm from a man living in Malmö. In the apartment, they encountered a sight they would not soon forget. The man was lying sideways in his bed and was unable to get up. Both the bed and the man’s body were covered in dried feces and urine.
His nails were a centimeter long and clearly had not been cut in quite some time. When they helped the man into the bathroom, they discovered that those surfaces too were covered in dried feces.
READ ALSO: Several new reports of sexual assaults within home care
The staff were deeply affected by the incident and criticized both their employer and their colleagues.
“The state of the client, his hygiene, the condition of the apartment, and his clothes is not something that develops overnight but is the result of long-term neglect. It does not seem that […] staff have succeeded in motivating the client and helping him to a decent existence,” says the report reviewed by Sydsvenskan.
They question why no one has sounded the alarm and describe the man’s situation as degrading.
Investigation to Provide Answers
At Malmö city’s home care, unit manager Johan Larsson says it is “unacceptable” that for some reason the man’s situation was not detected, and that measures have now been taken.
He cannot say how it was even possible for someone to live in such conditions for so long, despite receiving home care.
– Our investigation, which we have now initiated, will provide answers. I don’t want to make any assumptions, says Larsson.
READ ALSO: Asked to remove headscarf in home care – Felt insulted: “Shocked”