Home Care Worker Was Intimate with Care Recipient – Not Reported to Police

Several elderly home care recipients in the municipality of Mark report having been subjected to unwanted advances and violations of their integrity by an employee. An internal investigation shows that several people described similar experiences, including in connection with intimate hygiene. Despite these accounts, the municipality has chosen not to report the incidents to the police.

The investigation, conducted under the Lex Sarah regulation, reveals that several pensioners raised the alarm about the individual. As the municipality began to look into the case, it emerged that more people who had come into contact with the employee had experienced similar problems.

According to the investigation, the employee on repeated occasions behaved in a way that care recipients described as inappropriate and unpleasant, reports Mark Posten.

Particular criticism was directed at situations involving personal care. One pensioner stated that staff continued with intimate hygiene despite the person’s explicit request to stop and interrupt the procedure. There is also information that care was performed in a manner deviating from standard routines.

The investigation also contains reports of unwanted physical contact in the form of massages that were neither requested nor considered a part of the care assignment.

It was not only care recipients who noticed the problems. Colleagues also reported inadequate conduct and difficulties adapting work to the needs of the care recipients.

The municipality’s overall assessment is that there have been recurring shortcomings in respecting the privacy of care recipients, especially in connection with personal care.

In connection with showering, the user describes that the specific care staff focused on lower-body hygiene and continued the procedure even though the user had explicitly said no and requested that it end. (…) Instead of the usual washcloth, one occasion when cleaning the back and down to the buttocks area was described as being done by hand.

The Municipality: Has Handled It Well

Home care manager Erika Agnarsson describes the findings as concerning and emphasizes that the municipality takes the incident seriously. At the same time, she maintains that the operation has handled the case appropriately, without providing details about the specific measures taken.

The municipality does not wish to disclose whether the individual in question is still employed in the service, citing staff confidentiality.

Despite the information that has emerged, the incident has not been reported to the police. The municipality considers that the actions taken, based on the circumstances of the case, are sufficient.

– We have taken measures that are well considered with regard to the seriousness of what has happened, says Erika Agnarsson to Mark-Posten.