Sjöbo municipality claims to take responsibility and not hire convicted individuals within elderly care – something that the Sjöbo Dementia Association argues is not entirely accurate. At the same time, relatives testify to serious deficiencies in the municipality’s residential facilities. While no convicted individuals are supposed to be employed, the municipality’s highest care manager herself was convicted of minor assault – before she obtained her job. When Samnytt confronts the chairman of the Social and Care Board, Roland Wiking (S), he says he was unaware of the conviction but that he has confidence in the woman.

The Sjöbo Dementia Association has investigated the municipality’s dementia care throughout spring and summer. The association is a local branch of the National Dementia Association and consists, among others, of relatives of those living in the municipality’s dementia residences.

Chairwoman Henrietta Nielsen, whose own mother lives in one of the residences, describes how the association began scrutinizing both operations and the municipality’s routines after repeated alarms regarding mismanagement.

It was during this work that the association made a discovery: that a responsible manager for elderly care is herself convicted of a crime.

The Head of Elderly Care Kicked Woman After Altercation

The verdict was delivered by Malmö District Court on May 12, 2021. According to the judgement, the woman was convicted of minor assault after an incident outside a home in Malmö in the summer of 2020. She received 40 day-fines of 400 SEK each.

The background was a protracted family conflict. The woman, who is now the head of care, was together with her husband outside his former wife’s home when an argument arose.

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The head of care stated in court that the woman had called her a “fucking whore” and said, “Next time I’ll run you over.” She claimed that her foot flew up “reflexively” and may have hit the woman. The court did not accept that explanation.

The court instead assessed that the head of care had become upset and consciously kicked the woman. The kick landed on the woman’s buttocks and, according to the court, caused brief pain. Given the limited violence and preceding provocation, the assault was deemed minor.

The ruling was issued about two years before the woman took her position within the municipality.

– We found it purely by chance, says Henrietta Nielsen to Samnytt.

How often are these rules bypassed and for what reason? How is it justified that one assault conviction is okay and not another? There can’t be arbitrary decisions. There’s a lot of internal recruitment and friends hiring friends. People know each other and have worked together for a long time.

Chairwoman of Sjöbo Dementia Association, Henrietta Nielsen

At this point, the association had begun investigating which rules Sjöbo municipality applies concerning prior criminal records in care and welfare employment. According to Nielsen, the municipality has a routine in which crimes including assault are specified as those to be considered during recruitment.

– It clearly states assault. It doesn’t specify what severity the crime must have, she says.

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The Dementia Association therefore wants to know how the woman could get the manager job and whether the municipality makes exceptions from its own rules.

– How often are these rules bent and for what reason? How can one justify that this assault conviction is acceptable but not others? They must not be arbitrary decisions.

Nielsen simultaneously describes what she perceives as a closed culture within parts of the municipality’s care sector, where, according to her, many roles are filled by internal recruitment and where people who already know each other reappear in various positions.

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She does not want to call it a clan structure, but says that at times, the organization can more closely resemble a “sect,” where friendships and old relationships risk making it harder to whistleblow on irregularities.

– There is a lot of internal recruitment and friends hiring friends. People know each other and have worked together for a long time, she says.

S-Official: “We need to look at that”

The chairman of the Health and Care Board, Roland Wiking (S), tells Samnytt that he was unaware of the woman’s assault conviction. When Samnytt asks how she could be employed if having an assault conviction is contrary to the rules, Wiking does not want to conclude that a wrongdoing has occurred.

– I need to look into it. I simply can’t answer that.

Sjöbo municipality is governed by a coalition consisting of the Moderate Party, Social Democrats, Centre Party, and Liberals, with support from the Green Party.

Were you aware she was convicted of assault?

– No, I was not aware.

What you’re saying, in your words, is that a rule has been broken, which I don’t know. So it’s hard for me to speculate based on your statements.

Roland Wiking (S), Sjöbo

Wiking points out that neither he nor the Health and Care Board were responsible for the recruitment of the woman.

– It wasn’t me who recruited; it was the municipal executive director.

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But according to your recruitment routines, people convicted of assault should not be able to work in elderly care, is that correct?

– That’s the case for home care staff.

Shouldn’t it apply to the head of elderly care, too?

– Yes. But we need to look at how the policy is written. I can’t answer for the details.

If the policy was introduced in 2022 and the woman was hired in 2023, how could she get the job?

– As I said, we have to look into that. I can’t give you a direct answer now.

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But if a rule has been broken here regarding elderly care in the municipality, where you have responsibility…?

– What you’re saying, in your words, is that a rule has been broken, which I don’t know. So it’s hard for me to speculate based on your statements.

But there is a verdict against the manager, which I have in front of me, so we can clarify …

– But we can’t. That’s what you’re saying.

But given your area of responsibility, care and welfare, shouldn’t you be aware of this?

– It concerns care and welfare, but it wasn’t the care and welfare department that recruited her. It was the municipal executive director.

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But it is still care and welfare that this manager is responsible for?

– Yes, that is entirely correct.

Then shouldn’t the matter also be handled within care and welfare?

– No, it’s the responsibility of the municipal executive director, Karina Hansson.

Do you still have confidence in her?

– I have no reason not to have confidence in her.

Are you interested in reviewing the information we have, the assault conviction, etc.?

– The question is whether it would matter at this stage.

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Wiking also objects to the suggestion that the problems described by the Dementia Association could be linked to the woman’s previous conviction. He questions what relevance the conviction has on the current treatment of elderly and reacts to what he perceives as a claim that the manager herself would mistreat people.

“Forced to Eat Alone”

The assault conviction is, however, only part of the ongoing conflict between the Sjöbo Dementia Association and the municipality.

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The association claims that since spring, residents in dementia care homes have been forced to leave communal areas during meals and instead eat alone in their apartments.

– They are not allowed in the common areas that they actually pay rent for. All food is served in the apartments. They are forced to eat alone, says Nielsen.

She states that the association has received similar reports from several relatives and has also spoken with residents and managers. According to Nielsen, the resulting isolation has tangible effects on people who are already seriously ill.

She was called in to the unit manager and was scolded for speaking to the press. Then she was forced to sign a loyalty contract not to talk to the press.

Chairwoman of Sjöbo Dementia Association Henrietta Nielsen

– Relatives are desperate. Their loved ones stop eating altogether, become depressed, and lose their will to live once again.

The association is considering reporting parts of the management to the police.

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Nielsen further describes a nearly 80-year-old, severely ill woman who went to the local press and described conditions at her residence.

After publication, according to Nielsen, the woman was summoned to the unit manager, scolded for having spoken to the media, and then forced to sign what Nielsen calls a “loyalty contract” not to speak to the press.

– She was called in to the unit manager and scolded for talking to the press. Then she was forced to sign a loyalty contract not to talk to the press, says Nielsen.

“Found Mom Sitting in Feces”

The Dementia Association also criticizes the municipality’s use of digital supervision. According to Nielsen, an IR-based system has been installed in apartment units. Through the system, staff can see body outlines and movements and receive alarms on their mobile phones.

What exactly can staff see in this app?

– It looks a bit like a thermal camera. You can’t see the face, but you see a person and you know which apartment it is. She continues:

– You can even see if someone has visitors and if they are hugging.

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She also states that the technology supports two-way communication. Depending on the system’s configuration, according to Nielsen, it should be possible to both listen in on what is happening in the apartment and talk with the resident through the system.

This means, she believes, that the technology can potentially be used to eavesdrop on what is said in the elder’s private home.

– You can both listen and talk, depending on the settings, says Nielsen.

Nielsen emphasizes that the technology itself can be valuable. For example, it can detect when an elderly person gets out of bed and thus help staff notice fall risks.

The problem arises, she contends, when technology replaces physical supervision.

– Then staff get an alarm on their phone. Instead of going to the apartment as before, they look in the app: “What’s happening here? Okay, then I don’t need to go there.”

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Can you give an example of what can happen?

– We have found our mother sitting in feces up to her waist. Some alarm went off, movement or something. But nobody opened the door and thought, “Maybe she needed to use the toilet.”

A digital image, according to Nielsen, can never tell whether the resident is hungry or thirsty, needs to use the toilet or already has.

– The human supervision is lost. And then they become even more isolated.

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Nielsen suspects that financial savings are behind the development.

– My personal opinion is that this is being done to save money.

“There Are No Consequences”

She also describes an operation with high staff turnover and employees being moved between different parts of care. In her mother’s ward, at least half of the staff have recently resigned, according to Nielsen.

I think if you have someone who is convicted at the top, the threshold for reporting something is extremely high. It permeates the whole organization, that’s how I feel.

Chairwoman of Sjöbo Dementia Association Henrietta Nielsen

The association also reacts to very young people without experience being entrusted with the care of seriously ill dementia patients.

– There can be 18- and 19-year-olds with absolutely no experience. They are suddenly expected to care for a seriously ill patient who may no longer be able to speak for themselves.

Nielsen has worked as a researcher and university lecturer with a focus on dementia. She believes the problems in Sjöbo ultimately stem from a systemic flaw, where politicians without sufficient knowledge make far-reaching decisions about the care of critically ill people.

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The Dementia Association has also requested the municipality’s routines for when suspected crimes within care should be reported to the police. According to Nielsen, Social Democrat Roland Wiking has replied that there are no such routines.

It is against this background that the association considers the manager’s previous assault conviction relevant. Nielsen goes so far as to say that she fears having a convicted person at the top can affect the organizational culture regarding reporting within the organization.

– I think if you have someone who is convicted at the top, the threshold for reporting something is extremely high. It permeates the whole organization, that’s how I feel.

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Nielsen simultaneously stresses that this is her own assessment. The association now plans to pursue parts of the criticism legally.

– There is a lack of knowledge among decision-makers. And there are actually no consequences when things go wrong. You can just keep on going.

Samnytt has unsuccessfully sought comment from both the manager and Sjöbo’s municipal executive director Karina Hansson.

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